


The Greatest Crows

by bluelove22



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Acting, Flirting, Fluff, Getting Together, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Inspired by The Greatest Showman (2017), Karasuno Family, Light Angst, Music, Protective Karasuno Volleyball Club, School Festivals, Singing, Singing!Hinata, Singing!Kageyama, Singing!Suga, cultural festival, play based on Prototype A Haikyuu aka chapter 172.5, so much mama!Suga and Dad-chi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:20:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 32,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25245292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluelove22/pseuds/bluelove22
Summary: “Wait— November. Isn’t Karasuno’s Cultural Festival coming up in a few weeks?”Takeda paled significantly at the mention of the school-wide event. “Y-you’re right. You’re absolutely right. I’ve been so focused on teaching and volleyball club that any mention of it completely skipped my mind.” He pulled out his phone and searched his faculty email for more information. What he found made him gulp. “Oh no; it’s in two weeks!”“And since this is a club…”Both the coach and assistant coach became white as sheets before screaming together:“We have to participate!”
Relationships: Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Hinata Shouyou & Yachi Hitoka, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 62
Kudos: 382





	1. We're going to be in a musical!

**Author's Note:**

> *SPOILERS for Season 3! This takes place at the beginning of Season 4 or chapter 207 of manga. This is my first Haikyuu fanfic! Song lyrics used later are original lyrics based on The Greatest Showman musical soundtrack; the play itself is based off Prototype A Haikyuu chpt 172.5. Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu.

“Eat or sleep, choose one!”

Takeda laughed, putting a calming hand on Coach Ukai’s shoulder. They were at their usual haunt (or restaur-haunt as the high school teacher had once joked) celebrating Karasuno’s victory at the Miyagi Prefecture’s Playoffs. Beating Shiratorizawa hadn’t been an easy feat. Their hard work, consisting of long hours of physical practice among other factors, willpower, and sheer luck had paved their way to nationals.

“Give them a break! They had quite the stressful match.”

“They had a stressful match? I had to watch the whole damn thing!” He yelled before shaking his head and breaking into a grin. “These kids will be the death of me, I swear.”

“Now now no need to be so dramatic. They earned this.” Takeda’s eyes were shining with pride even as his hand slipped off his friend’s shoulder. “We’re going to the spring tourney for the first time in years. They couldn’t have done it without you, you know. I couldn’t have done with without you.”

Ukai waved a hand at him dismissively. “Don’t get all mushy on me now, teach! All of us still have a lot to learn; they’re helping me just as much as I’m helping them.”

“Perhaps they are.”

The two men were silent as they looked over the team. Tanaka and Hinata were stone cold asleep at their table, Noya and Kageyama not far behind. The third-years, minus Kiyoko, watched with amusement as Yachi tried to wake them up even as Tsukishima and Yamaguchi told her in between bites of food to ignore them (although Yamaguchi put it much kinder, simply saying to let them sleep if they were that tired). Ennoshita, Kinoshita, and Narita were being responsible second-years by running around trying to make sure they weren’t being a bother to the restaurant staff.

“We’ve got a great group going to nationals this year. Maybe even the best group,” Takeda said.

Ukai chuckled. “Don’t let them hear you say that just yet. They’ll need your positivity for when it gets tough. Nationals are in early January so we’ve got a little over two months to keep their spirits up.”

“Sure thing! I’ll definitely keep them motivated all throughout November and December.”

“I have no doubt you will.” Suddenly the ex-delinquent frowned, some blood draining from his face. “Wait— November. Isn’t Karasuno’s Cultural Festival coming up in a few weeks?”

Takeda paled significantly at the mention of the school-wide event. “Y-you’re right. You’re absolutely right. I’ve been so focused on teaching and volleyball club that any mention of it completely skipped my mind.” He pulled out his phone and searched his faculty email for more information. What he found made him gulp. “Oh no; it’s in two weeks!”

“And since this is a club…”

Both the coach and assistant coach became white as sheets before screaming together:

“We have to participate!”

_The next day in the gymnasium._

“I wonder why Takeda-sensei called us all here for a meeting,” Asahi whispered to Daichi and Sugawara. The trio of third-years sat together in front, the second-years a foot or so behind them and the first-years a ways behind them. Kiyoko and Yachi sat on the side chatting about the notes they’d compiled during their latest game. “Usually Coach Ukai calls us about getting together to go over our performance from the most recent game. He even told us not to bother bringing our uniforms.”

Sugawara nodded. “It wouldn’t be strange if we hadn’t been told yesterday on the way to dinner that we would have a few days without practice to rest. The TV he usually wheels in to watch the footage on isn’t out either.” He turned to Daichi. “What do you think, captain?”

“Not sure. It must be important though,” he replied quietly as the rest of the club members went silent. Takeda had entered the gymnasium with his head down and a scary aura coming off of him. Even Daichi was taken aback by the odd mood coming from their normally sweet yet terrifying teacher.

There wasn’t a snicker as Takeda stood before the group, eyes shadowed before his head suddenly whipped up.

“I’m so sorry!” He bowed so fast some of the members swore they heard his spine crack. “I’m your coach and I failed all of you! Please forgive me!”

Everyone on the team turned to their captain and vice captain. It was only after Daichi pleadingly looked to Sugawara that the more motherly one of the two spoke up.

“Um, coach? Mind explaining what you think we did? I’m sure whatever happened wasn’t bad enough to warrant apologizing to us like that. You’re a great coach.”

“The best!” Tanaka added boisterously, Noya and Hinata chiming in with him.

Their teacher quickly wiped the dramatic tears falling from his eyes away.

“I messed up! I was so caught up in making sure you guys went to nationals that I completely forgot about the upcoming Cultural Festival. You only have two weeks left to prepare now!”

Ennoshita smiled sheepishly. “Uh, coach, our teachers have been talking about it for weeks. I think we were all aware of it. We just weren’t worried about it.”

“I figured we’d just default to what we did last year and hold an exhibition match,” Noya agreed. “I’m just glad our lively first-years had enough faith in their senpai not to worry about what our club is doing! After all, all clubs have to participate.” Kageyama, Hinata, and Yachi sweat from where they sat next to the other first-years. Noya squinted at them in confusion. “Wait, you guys knew we had to do something as a group, right?”

“Speak for yourself,” Hinata exclaimed in a panic. “I didn’t realize we had to participate outside of whatever our homeroom classes decided! I was prepared to assist with a café.”

“Me too.” Kageyama mumbled.

Yachi was also visibly freaking out. “Me three!”

Tsukishima gave them a baleful look. “Seriously? You should all know every club is expected to participate in the Cultural Festival. Rather than helping out your classmates in homeroom members of clubs get special permission to participate with their fellow club members instead.”

Yamaguchi smiled nervously. “It’s not a big deal though, is it? We can just set up a food stand and call it good.”

“No way, Yama-yama!” Tanaka stood up and pointed at him dramatically. “That’s what every group does! We should do,” he grinned deviously while kicking Noya’s knee, “a maid café!”

Noya jumped high into the air before high-fiving his partner in crime. “Yeah! We can dress up in suits and the managers can wear maid outfits!”

Now Daichi stood up, grabbing both of their collars. “No. We are the _boy’s_ volleyball team. Boys. You can’t expect Kiyoko and Yachi to be the only ones dressed up if that’s what you guys want us to do. Do you know what that would mean for us then? We’d all need to wear maid outfits.”

Asahi looked sick. “Please don’t make me do that! I don’t have the figure for it!”

“I dunno. You could let your hair down,” Suga suggested. “If I had to wear a dress I would probably be more worried about having to shave my legs. Girls do that, right? Armpits too.”

Tanaka blanched. “I ain’t shaving nothing!”

Tsukishima raised an eyebrow. “You just used a double negative, dumbass. Also you have no problem shaving your head.”

“Hey, dumbass is Hinata’s nickname!” Noya yelled only for Hinata to complain that was most certainly not his nickname (it was).

Minutes passed with nearly everyone yelling and arguing about what they should do as a club. A café was too common, as was a food stand, and it was decided they didn’t want to do the same thing as the year before. Kiyoko wrote down any ideas she heard in addition to the comments she could make out amidst the chaos. It was only after some of the players started getting grabby that Daichi finally let out his inner disappointed dad.

“Would all of you shut up?” Immediately the players were seated and at attention. The only others left standing were Takeda at his left and Kiyoko at his right. She handed the team captain her notes and he thanked her with a nod. “Thank you, Kiyoko-chan. Now,” he looked over the players, “we’re going to put this to a vote. I want you all to close your eyes. Raise your hand if you like the idea I read, and leave it down if you don’t. When we’re done we can discuss the top three options and then put those to a vote. Does that sound fair?”

Everyone responded with a variation of: “Yes, captain!”

“Good. Here we go.”

And so it began.

“Food stand.” Five hands. “Haunted house.” Six hands. “Volleyball trivia show.” One hand. “Carnival game stand.” Eight hands. “Comedy routine.” Five hands. “A short play about volleyball.” Seven hands. “Café— a regular one.” Six hands. “Arm wrestling competition.” Seven hands. “Player Auction.” Three hands. “And I’m vetoing kissing booth. Okay, everyone open your eyes. It looks like we’re choosing between a carnival game stand, a short play, and an arm wrestling competition.”

Takeda cleared his throat. “Actually, as fun as a carnival stand would be I know most of the easier stands to set up have already been taken. Same with a food stand. This late in the game we need to go with something more unique, something related to our interests.”

“Arm wrestling competition!” Tanaka shouted, reaching over to grab Asahi’s arm. “I bet no one else is doing that.”

Suga smiled at his enthusiasm. “That’s probably true, but wouldn’t we get tired of doing that for several hours a day? We’d also need prizes of some sort for the winners.”

Ennoshita cleared his throat. “It’s your guys’ last festival,” he directed at the third-years. “You four should be the ones to decide.”

Daichi shook his head. “As considerate as that is I want us to do something that we can all enjoy. I personally like the idea of a short play about volleyball. It was your suggestion wasn’t it, Kiyoko?”

The raven-haired beauty nodded. “It was, but Yachi was the one who gave me the idea. She’s been working so hard making posters and getting our classmates invested in the team. I was thinking along the lines of putting on a play to show our classmates how important volleyball is to the team. About how it’s not just a club, but a family of individuals striving to achieve their dreams.”

She stopped talking when she noticed nearly everyone excluding Kageyama, Tsukishima, and Ennoshita tearing up at her words.

“That’s a brilliant idea!” Noya, Asahi, Suga, and Tanaka shouted as one. Hinata and Yachi were too busy hugging one another and crying to do anything but nod along. Kinoshita and Narita were already resigning themselves to do anything they needed to make Kiyoko’s idea come true.

Tsukishima, ever the blunt voice of reason, raised a hand. “Excuse me, but isn’t two weeks not a lot of time to put a play together? Even a short one will require a script, people to learn their lines, and the availability for us to reserve a time to use the auditorium stage. Not to mention costumes, stage equipment, and props.”

Kiyoko smiled. “True, but I wouldn’t suggest a play if I wasn’t prepared for one. I drafted a script based off of watching all of you work so hard. Props and costumes won’t be necessary seeing as it would just consist of your uniforms and a few volleyballs.”

“Wait, you wrote a play?” Half of the team was on their feet within seconds. “Show us, show us!”

“Guys.” Immediately everyone settled down at the warning tone in their team captain’s voice. He turned to their manager apologetically. “Continue, please.”

She nodded, pulling her laptop out of her bag. She sat on the bench where Takeda joined her after a couple minutes. The teacher was reading over what everyone could only assume was the script while she went on to explain.

“I got the idea when Kageyama and Hinata first joined the team. Their quick attack sparked something in everyone. They drove us all to work harder, to reach further, and to strive higher than ever before. After the first loss against Aobajohsai I got the idea to write your progress down, and after our recent win against them I realized the Cultural Festival would be just after the Miyagi prelims. I thought ‘why not turn our team’s story into a real story for others to get just as passionate about?’ and it was born.”

“Holy cow! You wrote about them too?” Yachi shouted before she realized what she’d said. “I mean, not that I wrote about you all like some silly volleyball fanfiction or something.”

Yamaguchi leaned closer to her, suspicious. “What did you write then?”

The manager in training turned pink. “J-just some parody songs! I listened to The Greatest Showman around the same time as joining you guys and became a bit obsessed with the soundtrack. At one point it reminded me so much of all of you that I rewrote the lyrics to most of the songs and made them about volleyball. Pretty lame, huh?”

“What?” Hinata’s sharp voice cut through her embarrassment like one of his spikes cutting through a block. “It’s not lame at all! In fact it takes a lot of brains to rewrite an entire song so that it still rhymes or has the same amount of syllables. Do you have the songs with you right now?”

She turned even redder under his attention. “No. I saved them to a document on my computer at home. It’s not like they would come in handy ever anyway,” she waved her arms frantically.

Takeda stood up suddenly. He had glossed over the script Kiyoko had written and was radiating energy equivalent to that of the sun.

“Kiyoko, Yachi, you two are amazing. Between the two of you we can turn this short play into a short musical! That will be sure to get everyone’s attention; we’ll have the biggest audience cheering for us at nationals!”

Several faces twisted in fear at the word “musical”.

“Um, I can’t sing.” Kinoshita stated.

Narita agreed. “Neither can I.”

“I can, but not by myself. I’d get stage fright.” Asahi explained. Yamaguchi seconded his opinion. Tsukishima flat out said he wasn’t singing. He’d say some lines if he had to, but he wouldn’t sing.

“I don’t think we should use my lyrics,” Yachi attempted to protest. “Who knows how well they’ll fit with her script! I also wrote them from Kageyama and Hinata’s perspectives, so if they don’t want to sing a lot of them wouldn’t make much sense.”

Suga caught the slight downturn of Kiyoko’s hopeful smile and sprang into action. Literally. In one large leap he was seated in between the lightning fast duo and slinging his arms around them.

“Don’t worry about it, Yachi! I know these two are capable of learning a few songs in the matter of a couple weeks. Isn’t that right, guys? Although,” he feigned innocence, “I wonder which one of you could learn them faster.”

Hinata’s eyes lit up as if on fire while Kageyama’s eyes sharpened like daggers.

“I would,” they spoke at the same time. “Huh? No way!” Twin growling ensured. “No, it’d be me!”

The third-year setter smiled sweetly. In the background Asahi and Daichi shivered a bit at how easily their caring mother hen could turn into a silver-tongued snake. “Great, that settles it! We’re going to put on a musical about volleyball as our club’s Cultural Festival entry. Our lovely managers can collaborate about role preferences and send us the final script tonight via the team email so we can start practicing our lines tonight to run through them as a group tomorrow.”

“And I’ll send an email reserving ourselves a two hour slot in the auditorium!” Takeda added.

“We won’t be performing for two hours, will we?” Yamaguchi questioned worriedly. “You said this would be a short musical.”

“Oh it won’t take that long. We’ll probably break the musical into two half hour segments to give us a fifteen minute intermission with plenty of time before and after the performance to set up and tear down. Since Karasuno’s Cultural Festival is one day we’ll be able to get away with making this a one time performance. I’ll try to get us a slot in the morning or at least before noon so you all can enjoy the rest of the festivities without having to worry about the performance.

“Now,” he stated with glee, “enjoy your day off! Tomorrow we work on practicing for nationals and the greatest performance this club has ever put on.”


	2. Casting call!

There was no time for resting after that speech. The moment Takeda left the gymnasium to email the Cultural Festival committee about getting a time reserved for their show the team got to work.

“Want to come over to my place, Kiyoko-senpai?” Yachi asked before breaking out in a mad blush. “T-to work on the script of course! I’d say we could work on it here but the files I need are on my computer at home so…” She trailed off awkwardly only to calm down at the fond smile on the other girl’s face.

“That sounds good to me. I have nothing going on after this anyway. Before we go though,” she turned to Daichi, tapping his shoulder. “If you guys are going to practice for nationals anyway take these.” The team captain was handed a notebook. “The latest comments and advice on everybody’s’ play styles are the most recent entries. Good luck. Yachi and I will email everyone when we’re done working on the script. If you want to also prepare for the Cultural Festival perhaps play the soundtrack to the musical ours will be based off of while you guys warm up.”

Daichi nodded. “I’ll look it up on my phone and connect it to the old music player in the locker room. Everyone will be glad we finally have a reason to use the thing.” He left out the reason they never used it, which was something along the lines of the old Coach Ukai saying listening to music during practice would distract them into performing worse. It had been beaten into the players before them so they’d never considered changing anything.

Listening to music during one practice couldn’t effect their playing that badly, could it?

He was wrong.

“Yo dumbass stop staring into space and jump for the damn ball!”

“Shut up, Baka-yama! I was about to when you decided to set to Tanaka instead.”

“I only set to him because you were too busy lip-syncing to run as fast as you usually do.”

“Was not!”

“Was too!”

Aside from them Noya and Asahi were also admittedly distracted, the sound of the music making it harder to hear calls of “mine” or “I got it”. They quickly turned to individual practice for the entirety of the soundtrack’s play through. It was only after it was done that a light bulb lit up in Hinata’s head.

“Hey guys,” Hinata halted his serving to address his teammates. “What if we watch the movie Ya-chan was talking about after we’re done practicing here?”

Suga loved the idea. “That sounds like a lot of fun. We don’t hang out outside club practices often except to eat, so watching a movie together might help us bond together as a team.”

“I’m down,” Tanaka said while at the same time bringing Hinata into a light headlock. “Great idea, Red.”

Daichi looked around at the other players reactions. Some of them didn’t look too thrilled at the prospect of watching a musical per say, but watching a movie as a club was tantalizing enough of an activity that they all eventually agreed it could be fun.

“You guys have a good time,” Tsukishima said with a yawn. “I think I’ll just go home when we’re done instead.”

Beside him Yamaguchi pouted. “But Tsuki,” he whined, “I really want to go and it won’t be as fun if you ditch!”

The blond would deny it if anyone pointed out how whipped he was for the greenette.

“Ugh, fine. But you owe me dinner.”

Yamaguchi’s bright grin nearly blinded his best friend. “Sure thing! Thanks, Tsuki!”

At the same time Hinata was watching Kageyama. The setter’s face was pinched, like he was either in deep thought or constipated. Deciding running over to him and tackling was the best and only way to get his attention Hinata did just that.

“Kageyama!” He called before knocking him over. The setter fell to the ground with a yelp, surprise written on his features. After several seconds of Hinata just sitting on his legs Kageyama pushed him off in annoyance.

“What the hell was that for, dumbass?” He asked while wiping himself off.

“You looked like you had to poop. Are you going to watch the movie with us?”

The more experienced player frowned. “I am. I was just thinking I’ve never watched a movie with friends before. Back in middle school the other players didn’t really get along with me so…”

Hinata’s big eyes filled with a mixture of sorrow and anger before turning into determination. “Well you’re going to have fun tonight! If you end up enjoying it then we can always do it again. We’re partners, right? I told you I’ll always be there for you. On and off the court.”

A few yards behind them some of the other players snickered at Hinata’s lack of filter. They knew he said things, serious, sentimental, or stupid alike, with the same amount of confidence. A couple of players glanced at each other knowingly. The rivalry between the liveliest first-years seemed like a complicated way around admitting they had strong feelings when it came to each other. One player, the only one who still called Kageyama a king like it was a derogatory term, smirked.

“Ah, the king and his queen being oblivious as always. It makes me a little sick.”

Yamaguchi smacked him playfully. “Dude, shush. They’ll figure it out soon enough.”

“They make me cringe on a daily basis.”

“Maybe, but remember how long it took for us to—”

“Now who needs to shush?” Tsukishima cut him off. They were currently trying to see how long it took for the team to realize they were dating, and knowing some of the people on the team they might not figure it out before they graduate.

Back to said “royalty”, Kageyama reacted to the strange mix of feelings he experienced when Hinata praised him so honestly like he usually did. He yelled.

“Of course I know that!” He felt guilty when Hinata instinctively flinched, the setter’s fist having lifted into the air as if to grab him by the shirt. A moment later the ginger was back to smiling with his wide-eyed and bubbly demeanor so fast it nearly gave Kageyama whiplash. He crossed his arms, turning his head away so Hinata couldn’t see his conflicted expression. “But I appreciate the reminder.”

Daichi and Suga watched their interaction from the sidelines like proud parents.

“Hey, this musical more or less is centered around them from what the girls said, is that right?” Suga questioned.

“I think so. We’ll probably be side characters. Why, does that bother you?”

“No. I’m only asking because of the betting pool. Timeline-wise if the musical helps bring them together I’m in the running to win.”

“And here I thought you were just trying to make Kiyoko happy.”

“That too!”

_Later that evening._

Natsu’s eyes widened at the amount of people beginning to sprawl out throughout the living room.

“Big brother, are these all people your teammates?”

Hinata grinned. “Yep! These are the guys, and girls, I’ve been telling you about. Can you guess which one is which?”

The smaller, feminine version of Hinata scrunched up her face in concentration as she turned to each member in turn. She started with the easier ones.

“The excitable blond girl is Ya-chan! She was the great Villager B and the one who made the awesome posters of you, right?”

Yachi blushed at the compliments.

“Y-yes, I’m Yachi. It’s a pleasure to meet Hinata’s little sister! He’s mentioned you a few times too.”

“You look a lot like him,” Kiyoko added. At her comment Natsu grinned.

“I know! We have the same hair and eye color, but he always says I’m the cuter one. Oh, oh, you’re Kiyoko-chan! You’re the beautiful, cool team manager, right? You made a banner for them a long time ago.”

The black-haired girl chuckled. “I did. It’s nice to finally meet you, Natsu-chan.”

Natsu turned to the boys next. The first one she spotted was Tsukishima, to whom she pointed to with narrowed eyes. “You’re the super tall amazing blocker who’s a big jerk to my brother!”

Tsukishima gave Hinata a look that made the shorter shiver in fear. “Oh, is that right? I am pretty amazing for a jerk.”

“You are pretty mean to him,” Yamaguchi pointed out just as Natsu’s attention fell on him.

“You’re the tall freckly one! You’re the hard-working pinch, um, pincher?”

“Pinch server,” he corrected. “And yep that’s me. Good job!”

Determined at getting four guesses right she continued in rapid succession. She pointed at Noya, Asahi, Tanaka, Daichi, and Suga one after the other.

“You’re the short wheelbarrow, you’re the scary-looking ace, and you’re the bald, trouble-making wing-spiker. You two are the captain and vice captain, also known as dad and mom.”

Hinata ran a hand through his curls sheepishly.

“Uh, Natsu, Noya’s a _libero_. Also I only called Suga and Daichi mom and dad one—”

“Wait, I’m almost done!” She pointed at Ennoshita, Kinoshita, and Narita next. “You three are substitutes! I don’t remember your names, but I remember you,” she looked at Ennoshita, “were the captain when Dai-kun got hit in the face. You other two play if Tanaka-kun or Tsuki-kun gets hurt.”

“How does she know what we look like?” Narita asked Hinata, Kinoshita seconding his question.

The decoy tilted his head in confusion. “Why wouldn’t she know what you all look like? Just because she hasn’t seen a game doesn’t mean I don’t show her footage or pictures from our games and hangouts. I’ve shown my mom too. You’re my friends after all; it’s only natural with how much I talk about you that they have faces to put with names.”

Before anyone could coo over how wholesome their energetic ginger was Natsu turned to Kageyama with fire in her eyes. Before she spoke she put her hands on her hips and stuck up her head proudly.

“And you,” she drug out her words confidently, “are the reason my big brother gets to play all the time! You’re his rival, the setter, Tobio Kageyama. I didn’t like you at first because you made fun of him for not being a good enough player but since you toss the balls to him all the time I forgive you.”

“Thanks, I guess?” He looked at the girl unsure if he’d said the right thing or not.

“Apology accepted! Maybe you’re not so bad after all. Big brother always gets super excited when he talks about your tosses, and if he’s happy I’m happy. You’re also really handsome. Like a… like a…”

“King?” Tsukishima offered.

“I was going to say prince, but king fits better! Oh, wait, no wonder that sounds familiar. He calls you the king of the court sometimes too!” She said to Kageyama. By the time she was done speaking Hinata was bright red. He floundered for reasons for her to leave when his mother came to his rescue.

“Natsu, your brother and his friends are getting ready for their school’s festival. It’s almost your bedtime anyway. How about we go upstairs so they can get to work?”

“Fine,” the young girl relented. Before following her mother out she waved animatedly to everyone gathered around. “It was nice meeting you all!”

A chorus of “you too” could be heard in response. When Hinata’s mom and sister were gone he quickly asked for everyone to make themselves comfortable while he made the popcorn they’d purchased on the way over. Suga and Asahi passed around canned drinks they’d also gotten from the store. Yachi got the DVD ready in the meantime, so when Hinata got back nearly ten minutes later juggling three large bowls of popcorn the movie was ready to go.

“Here you go,” the ginger said as he handed a bowl to the where the second-years and Asahi were arranged on the floor directly in front of the TV. On the couch the team captains and managers were situated, so he handed them a bowl too. This left the first-years minus Yachi to sit up against the couch. Hinata handed the last bowl to Yamaguchi and Tsukishima. Kageyama seemed annoyed at that, but his annoyance faded when Hinata left and then came back holding two reheated pork buns. The setter even said thank you when he was handed a glass of milk on top of it.

“The queen sure knows how to treat his king,” Tsukishima gossiped to his boyfriend only to be shushed again. Hinata was turning off the lights, and Yachi was pressing play on the remote. The movie was starting.

It took barely five minutes for the entire team to become enraptured. Yachi, having seen it before, had a hard time keeping quiet during the songs. Everyone paid particular attention to the songs they would be part of singing. Kageyama and Hinata’s eyes were practically glued to the screen, their competitiveness lost in their fascination with the movie.

Yachi had been right. A lot of the songs and themes did remind them of volleyball as well as themselves.

At one point, roughly halfway through the film, Hinata couldn’t keep still during a particular song. It called to him. The lyrics as well as the instrumental itself made him want to sing along, but he held himself back since all he’d picked up was the chorus. It didn’t stop him from fidgeting restlessly, excitement thrumming through his body. It was one of his songs. He was going to get to sing it!

 _Take that, Baka-yama,_ he thought. Roughly the same time he was thinking this said setter got fed up with his constant movement. Before he knew it Kageyama’s mouth was at his ear.

“Would you sit still already?” He hissed. Unfortunately for him his breath in Hinata’s ear caused the shorter of the two to topple over in panic.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that!” He reprimanded, his heart hammering in his chest. Why was it doing that? At this rate Kageyama was going to be the death of him.

“Sneak up on you? I’ve been sitting next to you the entire night. Did you forgot or something?”

“No, of course not!” There was no way Hinata could ignore the heat his partner created just by his elbow or leg brushing his occasionally. “I’ll sit still. I promise.”

“Good.”

The setter didn’t miss the small pout on Hinata’s flushed face. If he stole what was left of the popcorn from Tsukishima and handed it to him as an act of goodwill neither of them said anything. They were too busy watching the movie, listening to song after song that more or less summed up their relationship.


	3. The read-through!

In all honesty Hinata wasn’t sure what to make of his relationship with Kageyama. When it came to volleyball they were partners. Hinata trusted him enough to run, jump, and spike with his eyes closed without a smidge of doubt that the setter would bring the ball to him. Outside the court they were arguably friends even if they joked about hating each other. They ate lunch and practiced together outside during their free period after all; one could say it was because they were partners but they shared food and played together on days off too. Hinata also referred to everyone on his team as friends, although in his heart he felt he cherished them like family.

He was just mushy like that. His emotions were so strong when he was happy they would just go “boom!” and the only way he could put the feeling into words was to say he loved his teammates just like he loved volleyball. And if he loved his teammates because they were like family to him, that meant he loved Kageyama too, right?

When he thought about it like that he wasn’t too sure.

They acted like brothers that got on each other’s nerves. That much he knew. At one point they spent an entire week going out of their way to piss each other off after a particular spat. Hinata has stolen Kageyama’s food on several occasions back then, going as far to pull childish pranks like putting fake bugs in his shoes and writing his name over the setter’s notebooks. In retaliation Kageyama had shouted to Hinata he’d set to him only to send it to someone else. He’d also grab the shorter boy’s stuff and hold it over his head to make him jump for it.

(Daichi had been upset that week. He’d been so sure they were flirting on purpose, yet after they’d gotten over their disagreement they had gone back to normal. Daichi mourned losing the bet.)

However, they usually got along. On and off the court they might bicker a lot, sure, but Hinata knows his partner. They sync together in a way no one else on their team does. Hinata trusted him with every fiber of his being. In regards to volleyball he never complained or went against his advice with the exception of their fight during training camp. He also knew he could read Kageyama like a book. The setter was amazing at volleyball, but his communication skills were lacking, so it was up to his partner to decipher when he meant when his words came out wrong. That’s just how it was. Sometimes Hinata wondered how they understood each other so well; it was like they were soul mates.

Platonic soul mates, obviously.

_I need to focus. This musical is going to blow people away,_ he thought.

The only reason Hinata was thinking hard, like, really hard, about how he felt in regards to his partner was because of the script.

“We titled the play ‘The Greatest Crows’ for now as a homage to The Greatest Show, but we might change it later.” Kiyoko explained. The team was sitting in their volleyball uniforms ready to spend the first half of practice going over their lines to one another. “I think we’ll save doing an entire read-through as a group until afterschool practice. It’ll give you all this morning and afternoon to review them.”

“Sounds good,” Daichi agreed. “Everyone, partner up with someone and focus on remembering your lines. We’re not part of the drama club so I won’t expect you to perform without a script on stage, but it might flow better if we can memorize some lines.”

Everyone responded with a loud “Yes, captain!” before getting to work. Well, almost everyone.

“Hey, Kiyoko, Yachi?” Ennoshita approached them sheepishly. “It looks like you made a typo. You put my name next to ‘Narrator’. Shouldn’t Daichi or Suga be the narrator?”

The girls shook their heads. Yachi spoke up first.

“Daichi already has a lot of lines seeing as he’s going to be playing ‘Coach’. Suga will be ‘Captain’, and he has a lot of singing parts. You said you weren’t confident in your singing abilities so we gave you a lot of speaking parts instead. We know you can do it!”

Ennoshita’s eyes widened before he broke out into a laugh. “Well if you’re that confident then I’ll do it! Oh, what about Kinoshita and Narita not being on the script?”

Kiyoko pointed to where the two boys were headed out the door. “We talked and they decided they were better fit to work behind the scenes. Kinoshita is going to take of putting the instrumentals on his computer and connecting it to the auditorium’s sound system. He also wants to experiment with sound effects. Narita is going to learn how to use the light system. The drama club said they could go over the basics with him sometime this week; he’s pretty excited. In their spare time I gave them a list of props for them to collect and move to the auditorium since we’ll use them for certain scenes.”

“Ah, I see. I’m glad they both found something they’re looking forward to helping out with.”

“Us too,” Yachi agreed. “They haven’t gotten to play a lot from what I’ve noticed so I’m happy they’ll each get their time to shine! Oh, do you think everyone else is okay with their roles?”

The trio turned around to look at the other members of the team. Immediately they noticed Noya using his over the top theatrics while Asahi appeared to be trying to hide behind his script.

“C’mon, Asahi! You don’t have nearly as many lines as Hinata, Kageyama, Suga, or Daichi. Even Tanaka and I sing more than you. Say your words with confidence!”

“But my character isn’t the loud type of confident. He’s a gentle giant, remember?”

“That’s how you are outside the script.”

“Noya, the characters in the script are basically us with a few changes.” He argued. “We’re even using our usual positions as our character names.”

“Hey, I like being ‘Libero’. You like ‘Ace’ don’t you?”

“I guess. It just seems strange to call each other by our positions while acting. Like shouting ‘Middle Blocker’ at Tsukishima, ‘Pinch Server’ at Yamaguchi, and ‘Wing Spiker’ at Tanaka feels weird. Couldn’t we just use our names?”

“We can talk to the others about that. I wouldn’t mind, but from what I read of the script last night it might make some of the scenes between Hinata and Kageyama awkward.”

“You read the whole script last night?”

“Duh! Kiyoko wrote it, so of course I devoted all my time to reading and memorizing it!”

“If only you could apply yourself like that to your classes…”

On the other side of the gymnasium Tsukishima was glaring at Tanaka while Yamaguchi attempted to placate them.

“Why does Yamaguchi have to help bully the simpleton?” He meant Hinata. “You would make a better accomplice than he would by looks alone. Yamaguchi is too nice to say things so spitefully.”

The pinch server did seem uncomfortable with acting out of character. “I could say them, but I don’t think I’d be very believable.”

Tanaka sighed, looking at both of his first-years. “Now look guys. I could help you out by asking Kiyoko to switch some lines around, but then I’d have to play a bad guy and she doesn’t need to see me like that even if it’s acting.”

Yamaguchi glanced to Tsukishima briefly before pulling out all the stops.

“But senpai,” he started, getting the second-year’s attention with his flattery, “don’t women love bad boys? Maybe seeing you act like a jerk will make her interested in you.”

For a moment it felt like a ray of light had descended upon Tanaka. Then his eyes filled with fire, scaring the pinch server just a bit.

“You absolute genius!”

Some yards away from them along the benches Suga and Daichi ran through their lines flawlessly.

**Coach: Hold on, who are those kids?**

**Captain: Oh, they’re both joining the team starting today! I discovered him. [Point to Setter.] He’s a setter who went by the title ‘King of the Court’ back in middle school on account of his untouchable volleyball skills. The short guy over there [Point at Decoy] can jump higher than anyone you’ve ever seen! We all convinced him to give a volleyball team a try, and once he remembers the basics we think with he’ll be a great player. Together these newbies might even become our greatest weapon!**

**Coach: Wait, are you telling me the short one’s never played volleyball before?”**

**Captain: He has! He’s technically played a bunch of sports, actually: soccer, basketball, soft tennis, you name it.**

**Coach: Seems like he can’t commit to anything.**

**Captain: He’s just not confident right now. Volleyball is his favorite sport, but he’s never had the chance to play with a real team. He spent most of middle school practicing with the girl’s team and only found enough people to play in one match during his final year. No one on his team knew the rules though so he only ended up scoring one point between both sets.**

**Coach: He at least knows how to play then. Good. Let’s see how they both do in a three on three match; after they’ve had some time to warm up of course.**

Finally, completely silent, Hinata and Kageyama stood staring at their scripts in the corner of the gym. It was only after several glances to see how the other was feeling about their lines that one of them spoke.

“This is amazing. I didn’t realize Kiyoko and Yachi could put how we feel about volleyball into words like this,” the decoy said, slowly growing more excited. The more energized he got the louder he became. “Everyone who watches this will surely fall in love with volleyball!”

Kageyama, as much as he agreed with him, frowned.

“Yeah, but nothing in the script bothers you? You’re the one they changed the most. I mean they made a few alternations to Suga, Daichi, and Yamaguchi but for you it’s like half of what makes you you isn’t there.”

“Sure it is! My character might start out pretty different; I don’t really have an intense fear of failure like they wrote me to have, and my wavering confidence in my own abilities never stopped be from joining the team, but by the end of it they captured my love of volleyball and what it is means to us all just fine. There are a few parts that make me seem a bit lame but the cool moments make up for it! You also have to admit they got you spot on. Us having to call you king won’t bother you, right? The first few scenes drag up some unpleasant memories, don’t they?”

The setter sighed, putting the hand holding his script on his hip. “I think there will always be this worry deep down that one day I might not have people there to set to, but whenever the thought pops up your words always drown it out.”

“Huh?”

“Remember what you told me when we first started playing together? You promised me that even if it took ten years or twenty you’d beat me; the only way you could ever beat me in the future is if you face me on the court. That means even if we aren’t on the same team we’ll eventually share the court together. Since I have that to look forward to there’s no way I’m going to let anything stop me from being the best.”

Hinata blinked. All of a sudden he bent down to clutch his stomach as he laughed deeply. From across the gym his teammates turned to see him struggling to stand up straight.

He wiped a tear from his eye, a wide smile splitting his face. “Ah, those words. I’ll definitely keep that promise, Baka-yama! Now let’s start practicing. I’ve got to beat you at this too!”

“You think you’re a better actor than I am, dumbass? You wear your heart on your sleeve!”

“Says the guy who doesn’t know how to properly communicate his own feelings.”

“Shut up!”

The decoy rolled his eyes. “Besides, even if you end up being a better actor than me you’ll definitely lose when it comes to singing.”

Kageyama narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“You can sing?”

“Yep! My little sister and I know all the words to over half of the Disney musicals, and my mom tells us we’re both natural born singers.”

“You’re basing your abilities on what your mom said? Are you sure she wasn’t just complimenting you because she’s your mom?”

“No! I’ll show you later today at after-school practice. Because I sing with confidence I sing super well. Just you wait and see!”

_Later that afternoon…_

The next time the team went to practice it began with a long list of changes.

“After some conversation about the script Kiyoko and Yachi have made a few major changes,” Daichi began. “Everyone pull out your scripts.”

“Right!”

“First of all, unless anyone objects we are going to be changing from using our positions as our character names to using our actually names with the exception of myself and Suga. We’ll still be referred to as coach and captain most of the time. Does anyone have concerns about this?”

Silence.

“Okay. The next change only really pertains to Tanaka and Yamaguchi; Kiyoko is going to make a few edits to your scripts so Tanaka can be Bully B with Tsukishima as Bully A.”

“Oh yeah!” Tanaka pumped his fist in the air and brought his hand up to the middle blocker. “Ready to be bad boys together?”

“Please don’t talk to me outside of practice.”

“Now you listen here you giant—”

Daichi cut him off with a loud, purposeful cough.

“Those are the only visible changes. The rest of the edits they made are minor, but they reprinted the scripts with every individual’s part highlighted for ease of use. Let’s make sure we thank them for their hard work.”

“Thank you!” They chorused.

The dark-haired manager looked away feigning polite apathy. Yachi, however, could tell she was feeling just a bit shy under the team’s attention.

“It’s no big deal. You are the ones needing to practice your lines.”

“Speaking of,” their club supervisor jumped in, “I got us approved to perform at ten o’clock sharp next Saturday morning. Coach Ukai said he’ll leave the first half of all our practices set aside for preparing ourselves for the festival until it has passed. I also talked to the drama club today! In addition to Narita being trained on their lighting system he and Kinoshita will be allowed to borrow some of their portable sound equipment. The equipment includes the speakers we’ll get to use for the performance as well as a set of microphones.”

Asahi tilted his head in thought. “You mean those big karaoke microphones we have to hold in our hands?”

Suga shook his head. “I bet they’re the kind we need to clip on our shirts.”

“Actually,” Yamaguchi interrupted, “my friend is in the drama club and earlier this year they got dozens of the newer earpiece microphones donated to them by alumni.”

Takeda nodded rapidly with stars in his eyes. “Those are the ones! They’re loaning us ten which works out because that’s the exact amount of people who will need one.”

Kageyama noticed Hinata practically shaking beside him. It was only after leaning forward and seeing the decoy’s blown pupils that he realized the ginger was getting way too excited.

“Dumbass Hinata,” he started while putting a hand on the shorter boy’s shoulder to steady him. “You need to take a deep breath.” Cue Hinata taking several deep breaths in succession only to become lightheaded. “Stop that! You’re going to hyperventilate.”

Hinata turned to his partner with his eyes closed and a smile brighter than the sun directed straight at him. “Sorry! I’m just so pumped for this. I know I keep saying that but it’s just that my heart keeps beating so fast when I think about people watching us sing and act and I’m sure everyone who watches us is going to understand how important volleyball is to people like you and I and it makes my insides go _fwoom_ and _shwaa_ and—”

He broke off in a coughing fit caused by not taking a moment to breath. Kageyama panicked and hit Hinata on the back roughly, sending the ginger jerking forward. After a moment the coughing stopped.

“What was that for?” Hinata asked his partner, rubbing his back with a sour tone. “If you wanted to practice for the fight scene halfway through the play you should have just said so.”

“That’s not what I was—”

“Hey guys,” Yamaguchi said loudly to get their attention. “Daichi said to circle up by the net. We’re going to run through our lines as a group.”

With that the pinch server went after Tsukishima, the taller of the two giving Hinata and Kageyama the stink eye.

“Let’s go, Kageyama!” Hinata suddenly shouted while vaulting up onto his feet. Without a second thought he grabbed his partner’s hands and hauled him up too. Instead of letting go completely, however, Hinata began to drag Kageyama over to the group by one hand.

The moody setter didn’t even seem to mind.

“Are they really that clueless?” Asahi whispered to Suga.

“They’re so focused on volleyball and competing with each other they aren’t seeing what we see. They’ll realize it soon enough, just wait and see.”


	4. Act 1, Scene 1!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This is where it starts getting a bit silly, but honestly I feel like they are still pretty spot on. Also a heads up; the song the lyrics in this chapter are sung to and based roughly on is A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman, that version specifically. Enjoy!

“Okay guys, since we did a full read-through yesterday and this morning I think it’s time we take it one scene at a time. We’ll be adding the movement cues in as well as tone of voice.”

Noya raised his hand.

“Captain, does this mean we’re going to actually start acting now?”

“Basically, yeah. Kiyoko and Yachi agreed we should at least be comfortable with all the scenes regardless if we memorize or lines before moving onto the music. Speaking of, has everyone who has singing parts been listening to their instrumentals and practicing at home?”

A chorus of agreements met his ears, making him beam proudly.

“Great! Then let’s—”

“Excuse me, Daichi, but I already have most of my lines memorized for the first half of the musical.” Kageyama stated. “If Suga and Hinata are ready we could probably run through the first song. Kinoshita said he had the instrumentals, and the microphones paired to the sound system are good to go.”

The captain seemed ticked at being interrupted for a split second before surprise overran his features.

“Seriously?”

“Hinata challenged me, so I had to compete. I bet he has most of his memorized too.”

The decoy in question jumped up in the air. “You’re darn right I do! I can’t lose to Baka-yama.”

“I have the song parts more or less down,” Suga admitted. “I only need to hear or sing a song a couple times before it’s ingrained into my head. We could probably run through the first few pages in their entirety as a group.”

Daichi looked at the three main singers and characters overall of the musical and sighed. He should have expected they would work so hard in the first few days of being given such a challenge.

“Okay. You three get microphones from Kinoshita and get into position. The beginning of the musical starts directly with a song, so despite me saying earlier to focus on movement and tone it might be better for you three to focus on singing instead. After running through the song I’ll start at the top of page two with Suga, Asahi, Noya, Tanaka, Yamaguchi, and Tsukishima. Everybody ready? Good!”

Five minutes later, after Kinoshita explained to the trio how to use and take care of the earpiece microphones, Kageyama stood on the stage with Suga a yard to his left and Hinata a yard to his right. He thought he’d feel nervous as he waited for the instrument to start, but even as he anticipated his first line he felt more or less calm. Whether or not it was because Suga and Hinata were giving him encouraging thumbs up was beside the point.

Then the tune of A Million Dreams began to play. Music filled the gym, making the small breath Kageyama took before he opened his mouth to sing inaudible.

_“The court is dark, and all I see are my fellow players’ backs to me. I’m on my own. Through the air the ball tears, but again no one is there. All I feel is numb.”_

His singing voice was quiet, deep, and confident. He slipped his eyes closed as he sang since he didn’t want to get distracted by his teammates’ reactions. This meant he didn’t see Suga’s proud beam or Hinata’s star-filled eyes.

_“Call me king, call me king ‘cause I’m too controlling. Call me king, call me king ‘cause of my superior mind. All alone, I can play, don’t need you anyway. I can play by myself, just me and I.”_ At the end his volume slowly rose, and he chanced opened his eyes for his last solo verse this song.

_“‘Cause no player wants to be led, by a king who’s in over his head. A billion reasons to leave me in their wake. They think of what the team could be, victory without me, suddenly the idea starts to take. A team without a king they’re going to make.”_

There was a moment of instrumental which Kageyama took the opportunity to breathe deeply. He’d been so focused on not messing up he hadn’t thought to take in more than the amount of air he needed to get the words out. As he did this he watched Suga get into character, his eyes half closing as he brought his arms into the air. When the third-year sang he did so animatedly.

_“There's a team in need of work, their reputation turned to dirt. A team unable to fly,”_ his arm pointed to the ceiling as he wistfully looked out over the gym. _“The amazing plays we once did, have fallen flat with our wings clipped,”_ his arm fell back to his side, _“but we still wanna play. They can say, they can say victory is hopeless. We can say, we can say we haven’t lost yet. We don’t care, we don’t care if they call us wingless.”_ His eyes closed as his words strengthened. _“We will soar again into the skies!”_

_“Every play drilled in our head, we’ll practice until our muscles are dead! A simple dream’s been keeping us on track. We knew it wouldn’t be easy, the long road ahead to victory, the right players will help bring us back. Some new players can bring our glory back,”_ his voice ended softly before Hinata took over.

The ginger opened his mouth, and what came out nearly made Suga and Kageyama forget their lines. Hinata hadn’t been lying. His tone, pitch, delivery— everything about his singing voice screamed angelic. He’d been right. He was a natural.

_“I’m no good, I’m too small. Just want to be part of it all…”_ He trailed off before staring at Kageyama with a strange look in his eye. _“Toss the ball to me.”_ He also noticed Suga holding up fingers until the countdown where they would sing different lines at the same time. _“I can’t serve, I can’t receive, but if you toss the ball to me, you will see who I can be—”_

And when the trio harmonized their teammates listened were blown away.

Hinata: _“Won’t someone set to me? Won’t someone toss to me?”_

Kageyama: _“Won’t someone be there for me? Won’t someone spike for me?”_

Suga: _“Won’t someone join the team? Who will join our team?”_

Grinning at the underclassmen, Suga continued. _“Our dreams are not yet dead.”_

_“There’s hope on the path ahead,”_ Hinata sang.

Kageyama finished the line with a flourish. _“There’s a billion reasons to not give up yet. I need a team, I need a team.”_

_“We think of what Volleyball could be,”_ they joined together at the end once more, _“not just a club but a reason to be, the reason for us to strive to the top. Volleyball’s the reason we’ll go to the top!”_ Their singing dropped in volume. _“We’ll all go to the top.”_

The song ended, and with it loud clapping from their teammates. Takeda was openly crying along with Yachi while Kiyoko just beamed beside a prouder than ever Daichi. Asahi had tears in his eyes while Noya and Tanaka just spouted something about not being able to compete with the singing voices of angels. Yamaguchi appeared to be pleasantly surprised, but he was too busy trying to poke fun at a seemingly uncaring yet definitely annoyed Tsukishima. From the side Ennoshita seemed like he knew this was coming while Narita was busy trying to revive Kinoshita whose soul left his body after being blown away by his teammates’ abilities.

“How can they be so good at volleyball and singing? That’s totally not fair.”

“Now now, man. Hang in there. We’re somebody’s main characters.”

Up on stage Hinata was torn between who to compliment first. He ended up going with Suga since he had less to say.

“Your voice is amazing, Suga! It’s so smooth, and sweet, like— like honey!”

He smiled under the praise, remembering to turn on his microphone as Hinata’s voice echoed through the gym. “Thanks, Hinata. You were amazing too! You sang like an angel, which combined with those wings you always seem to have when you jump fits you perfectly.”

“Really? Thanks, senpai!” The ginger then turned to Kageyama, and Suga had to put a hand over his face to hide the grin he got from watching the following interaction. “And you! Your voice was like _ahh_ ,” he mimicked a lower pitch that he wasn’t actually capable of making, “and it was so cool it felt like I was getting dowsed with cold water on a hot day and—”

He stopped. Suga thought it was because Kageyama’s face was pink under the praise, but after a moment the third-year noticed Hinata’s eyes were wide and his face was flashing from one emotion to another. For a second there was realization, shock, fear, and then acceptance. By the time he got to the acceptance phase his face turned as red as a tomato. Kageyama noticed the sudden split-moment changes in attitude with some worry.

“Hey, dumbass, what’s going through your head right now? You’re usually was easier to read.”

When Hinata spoke again Suga realized he should have told both of them to turn their microphones off.

“I just realized something super important!” He yelled with his fists glued to his sides, chin raised confidently.

Kageyama narrowed his eyes. “Uh huh, like what?”

“I like you, Kageyama!”

Silence. The reactions on everyone’s faces varied, but the overall consensus was nowhere aligned with Kageyama’s. The guy who’d just been shouted a confession at didn’t show an ounce of surprise unlike everybody else. Only Suga was grinning, mentally doing a happy dance in his head. His boys were finally going to get together!

Or not.

When the dark-haired setter finally recovered enough to speak he didn’t seem all that phased by what his partner had said.

“Of course you do! We’re friends. You don’t need to shout it at me with your mic still on like it’s some sort of declaration.”

“But it is! Will you go out with me, Kageyama?”

“What? No! Where is this even coming from?”

“After hearing you sing it made me feel this weird feeling in my chest that reminds of how I feel when I play volleyball. I’ve been feeling something similar for a long time but only just now realized it must be love because I love volleyball and I feel the same way about you. I think. It’s a slightly different feeling though, like _buh-dump_ compared to _buh-thunk_. Love seems to be too scary of a word anyway.”

“You’re overreacting.” Suddenly Kageyama seemed annoyed. “You go through phases like this when you get a crazy idea all the time. I’m sure if you give it a while you’ll realize the conclusion you came to is wrong.”

“But it’s not! I really like you, Kageyama.”

“You like my tosses, but you don’t like me.”

“Well sure it varies by day. Sometimes you’re mean to me and it upsets me, but most of the time you make me really happy. And I do too like you! I’ll prove it to you if you go out with me.”

“My answer is no.”

“Then I’ll just keep asking you until you say yes!”

“Whatever. Turn your mic off and get off the stage so they can start on the next scene.”

“Ugh, fine. But I’m not giving up on you!”

Kageyama rolled his eyes before responding sarcastically. “Great.”

The duo got down from the stage and was utterly blind to the nearly dozen eyes tracking their every move. It was only when Suga walked over to Daichi looking like a zombie that the captain managed to ask him what was wrong.

“It almost happened. They could have gotten together today, but Kageyama thinks it’s a joke.”

Daichi winced. “Hinata said he is going to keep trying. And hey this is progress, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but if he breaks Hinata’s heart because he isn’t taking his feelings seriously…” The third-year setter’s eyes hardened. “Tobio Kageyama is in big trouble.”

Those who heard Suga use the other setter’s full name gulped in fear. Nobody messed with the mom of the team when he got like that. No one.


	5. Act 1, Scene 2!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: The song the lyrics in this chapter are sung to and based loosely on Come Alive from The Greatest Showman, that version specifically.

“So,” Daichi stated after coughing lightly and rubbing Suga’s back in an attempt to calm him down, “uh, now that that’s over we’ll run the next scene and second song. After that I want Hinata and Kageyama to be ready for the scene afterwards, the jumping scene.”

Both first-years nodded before looking at each other with gazes full of determination. It seemed like the confession from before was pushed out of their minds for now.

“I’m going to beat you at acting too,” the ginger said smugly.

Kageyama raised an eyebrow. “Who said you won at singing?”

“ _Both_ my moms.”

“Pfft. Oh yeah? We’ll let’s see if you can calm down enough to act shy and awkward like your character is written then.”

The two were so busy glaring at each other while rehearsing their lines in their heads they barely paid any attention to the spectacle beginning just a few yards away.

**“No first-years have applied to join the club!”** Noya cried dramatically after launching himself into Asahi’s arms. **“It’s because we haven’t been playing well in recent years, isn’t it? This is terrible. Whatever will we do, Asahi? We barely have enough members to play.”**

For some unknown reason the libero knew how to cry on command, which is exactly what he did. Seeing the boy with tears running down his face set something off in Asahi that had him panicking.

“No, don’t cry! It’s going to be okay!” This time real tears were welling up in the older male’s eyes. “Noya!”

From the sidelines Daichi face-palmed. “Cut!” He shouted before walking over to the duo. In an instant Noya was grinning widely at his captain.

“Was I amazing or what?”

“Yes, yes you were, but as talented as that was maybe only do that for the real performance? Poor Asahi here doesn’t seem to be able to take it.”

Said giant turned his head away sheepishly. “I hate seeing you cry,” he directed at the boy he was still holding. Not that he’d planned to hold Noya, but he knew without a doubt when Noya ran at him that he would catch him without a doubt.

“Oh. Sorry,” he apologized, patting Asahi’s head. “I’ll tone it down a bit.”

“Thank you.”

Nodding, Daichi turned to Suga to give him a thumbs up to continue.

“Action!”

**“There there,”** Suga patted the libero on his shoulder comfortingly while trying not to break character after what he’d just witnessed. **“Today’s the first day of the school year. I’m sure we’ll a couple people will come to try out.”**

An evil chuckle carried across the room. Everyone turned to where Tanaka was pulling off the single most intimidating face they’d ever seen him make.

**“If no one joins voluntarily then I’ll just have to make some people join.”**

He brought one of his fists to his palm after saying the threat, genuinely making Yamaguchi’s soul leave his body for a split second. There was no way the pinch server would have pulled that off.

“Scary,” Asahi whispered. Noya rolled his eyes before wiggling out of his senpai’s grasp.

**“Right, because that will make first-years want to join us,”** Tsukishima said.

**“Eh? You got a better idea, four-eyes?”**

**“Actually I do, baldy. Shut up.”**

**“Hey now guys,”** Yamaguchi interrupted, **“how about we just look around for any new faces and ask if they want to try out for the team? We could also go over to the main sports complex where the sign-up sheets are and see if anyone waited until afterschool to sign up.”**

Daichi nodded in approval. **“That sounds like a great idea. Captain, why don’t you take Asahi, Noya, and Tanaka with you to scout?”**

**“Sure thing, coach! You can count on us.”**

“Scene!” Yachi shouted from the sidelines with a bright grin on her face. “That was amazing guys! I really felt the anguish from you, Noya, and the violent aura from you, Tanaka!”

“Really?” Tanaka rubbed the back of his head while exuding little hearts from the compliment. He turned to Kiyoko. “What did you think of my—”

He was cut off by Daichi turning his mic on in order to get his attention.

“Onto the next song.”

A few minutes later Suga positioned himself to approach Kageyama who of which was pretending to stare at a flyer on the wall. Waiting behind Suga were Asahi, Noya, and Tanaka. For this some they would be acting as backup singers with the exception of a few lines in the middle of the song. Noya and Tanaka seemed pumped to be singing even if they both still needed their scripts, but Asahi looked very nervous.

Noticing this, Noya jumped onto the gentle giant’s shoulders and pressed his cheek into his friend’s.

“You’re going to be great, Asahi! We’ve got this. And if you need a break just lower your volume and I’ll make up for it, okay?”

The third-year blushed as Noya fell back to the floor. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks, Noya.”

Noya gave him a thumbs up and winked. “No problem!”

Once everyone said they were ready Ennoshita read a few lines transitioning them into the scene.

**“When the group approached the hallway of the main sport complex Suga noticed a familiar figure standing in front of the sign-up sheets. He remembered him as Kageyama, a super talented setter with an attitude problem that had been benched at his last game for being a tyrant king on the court.”** Kageyama winced at this, but quickly brushed any negatives feelings off. It wasn’t wrong. His growth also did make a good story. **“The captain noticed him hesitating, a sad expression on his face as his pencil hovered over the line to sign up for the volleyball team.”**

Immediately the second song began, Come Alive’s beat making Yamaguchi and Hinata tap their feet as they listened.

Suga walked over to Kageyama, tapping his shoulder and singing just as the other turned. _“You look a little dazed. Your spirits seem low; I can’t let you stay that way,”_ he patted the taller boy’s hair with a smile. _“It’ll be okay. Your former team, your happiness they’ll never take. You’re not alone anymore, there’s so much you can offer. Be the force that they were too scared to utilize. The days begun and practice started, and now you’re a part of it. Forget what you knew, because Karasuno’s not the same.”_

_“Come with us,”_ the trio behind Suga joined in, _“join the team. Come and fly, straight up to the sky. Take our word, you can rely, on your team and I. We will fly! And the team will find a victory, at the summit where we used to be. We’ve been dreaming for someone like you to show up. We know you’re afraid to let us in, because of the past that’s been weighing in. But it’s okay because we’ll stick through thick and thin. So join our team!”_

While they’d been singing Tanaka had thrown his arm around Kageyama. Noya and Asahi were standing in front of the setter, and Suga was opposite to Tanaka. When they went into the next part Tanaka took the lead.

_“We see it on your face. You don’t trust us yet, you think we’ll turn away.”_ The wing spiker wasn’t as great a singer as the ones before him, but with some work it’d definitely be better than average. _“Your fear’s getting in the way. You’re pushing us back, but we’re not giving up yet.”_

Then it was Asahi’s turn, the ace taking a deep breath before singing his lines quietly yet correctly.

_“No more wallowing in the past. Please trust me, I know how that feels. ‘Cause when you lose hope, it gets really really hard to play.”_

_“But if you use your noggin,”_ Noya took over, _“you’ll see giving up’s not better than trying. You can prove what you can do. Make them afraid!”_

They all resumed singing for the chorus, Suga and Noya dancing around Kageyama as they did so.

_“Come with us, join the team. Come and fly, straight up to the sky. Take our word, you can rely, on your team and I. Give us a try! And the team will find a victory, at the summit where we used to be. We’ve been dreaming for someone like you to show up. We know you’re afraid to let us in, because of the past that’s been weighing in. But it’s okay because we’ll stick through thick and thin. So join our team!”_

Suga stopped as the other three belted out their lines.

_“Join us! We all! Want you! To play!”_

_“Because it’s always been your dream,”_ the setter sang in response to them.

_“Join us! You know! You want! To play!”_

_“Because you’re on the path to victory. Victory. Victory!”_

_“And the team will find a victory, at the summit where we used to be. We’ve been dreaming for someone like you to show up. We know you’re afraid to let us in, because of the past that’s been weighing in. But it’s okay because we’ll stick through thick and thin. So join our team!”_ They repeated the chorus again. _“Karasuno will find a victory, at the summit where we used to be. We’ve been dreaming for someone like you to show up. We know you’re afraid to let us in, because of the past that’s been weighing in. But it’s okay because we’ll stick through thick and thin. So join our team!”_

The four finished with their fingers all pointing at Kageyama.

_“Together we can make it to the top, so join us!”_

As soon as they were done Hinata broke the sudden quiet by whooping loudly.

“That was awesome!”

Yamaguchi agreed. “It did look pretty good. What do you think, Tsuki?”

The middle blocker gave his boyfriend a blank look.

“I just watched four of my teammates sing and dance around someone who just treated a confession like it was someone’s Goth phase. Please don’t make me say anything else until we start volleyball practice, Yamaguchi. I beg of you.”

Ignoring the comment, Kageyama turned to Hinata. “We’re up next. You ready?”

“Yep! It’s my turn to blow you all away now! Daichi-senpai, where should I jump to for my intro? Will we have a prop for me to jump onto for the actual performance? The notes for the scene say Kageyama sees me jump to the second story of the school building, so…”

“Hold on there, Hinata. One thing at a time,” he answered with a small laugh. “As a matter of fact Takeda spoke to a friend who works at a gymnastic center about borrowing one of their warped ninja warrior ramps.”

Hinata’s jaw dropped.

“A-are you serious? How soon will it be here? How tall is it? That sounds like so much fun. I wanna try it right now!”

“It’ll be here either tomorrow or the day after during evening practice.” Takeda explained. “It’s about ten feet tall. We’ll only have it for one night for you to practice on since he needs to have it back to his workplace. However, we do have it loaned out for the entire day of the Cultural Festival, so you can warm back up to it that morning. Does that sound okay?”

“Of course! Man, I am so excited my heart is going _bwam_ so fast it’s scary.”

Yachi looked at Hinata with worry. “Um, do you need to sit down for a moment then? I don’t want your heart beating out of your chest.” She turned to Suga, suddenly panicked. “He can’t possibly get so excited he’d die, right? Right?”

“No, but he could give himself a fever.” The setter responded before addressing Hinata. “Why don’t you take a couple deep breaths and get into position over there?” He pointed to the stage. “You can jump up there for now.”

The ginger tilted his head before pointing to the second level of the gym behind him. “Can’t I just jump up there?”

Takeda, Yachi, and the third-year boys all paled significantly.

“You can’t jump up there, can you?” The teacher asked fearfully. “Isn’t it higher up than the net?”

“Not really. Didn’t you just saw the ramp I’ll be using is ten feet tall? That’s about the same distance to the second story, so of course I can jump up there. Kageyama saw me do it after we lost our first match to Aobajohsai.”

“I did,” the setter admitted. “If only he could jump that high all the time.”

Suga looked like he was about to have a heart attack. “Hinata, how about you don’t do that?”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re going to give your poor mother a heart attack.”

“But my mom’s not here.”

Daichi sighed. “He meant himself, Hinata.”

“Oh.” He turned to Suga with pleading eyes. “You don’t have to worry about me, really! It will help me practice for the ramp when it arrives. Jumping that high is nothing for me, I promise. Trust me, Suga-senpai?”

Everyone in the room could pinpoint the moment Hinata’s puppy dog eyes melted Suga’s heart.

“Fine, but if you get hurt you’re in big trouble!”

The decoy smiled happily. “Thanks, Suga-senpai! You’re the best parental figure and teammate ever!”

For some reason Daichi felt like he’d been struck. The feeling faded after a few moments as everyone who was in the next scene got into position. Hinata was half a court away waiting for Ennoshita’s cue while Kageyama walked casually across the floor. Some yards behind him Suga, Asahi, Noya, and Tanaka pretended to be in conversation.

**“Kageyama, having joined Karasuno’s Volleyball team mere minutes before, couldn’t help but feel like something was still missing. Or maybe it was someone?”** Ennoshita narrated.

Suddenly Hinata started running from where he was set back behind his other teammates. They parted in pretend shock as he brushed by them, nearly knocking Kageyama over as he passed a second later.

**“Excuse me, sorry!”** Hinata feigned a healthy amount of awkwardness as he apologized. Everyone watched with baited breath as the ginger bent his knees and swept his arms back in his usually flying motion he made as he jumped. There were some genuine gasps mixed with Kageyama’s theatric one as Hinata surged into the air. He gripped the bars before confidently pulling himself up until he was over the safety railing.

**“Amazing speed, overall athleticism, perfect timing, and no hesitation.”** Ennoshita continued reading Kageyama’s inner monologue. **“Him. We need him.”**

**“Hey you!”** The setter shouted at his partner. When Hinata turned around to look down his eyes flashed wide. He continued to feign surprise as well as a bit of fear as Kageyama continued. **“Come down here and play volleyball with me!”**

**“Eh?”**

There was a brief moment where Hinata made his way back to the first floor using the ladder. When he landed safely on his feet he did something adorable Suga and Yachi had to stop themselves from squealing. He hunched just a bit, enough to seem shy, and angled his head in such a way that when he looked up at Kageyama with his huge brown eyes it nearly made the setter flush. It didn’t help that Hinata pointed to himself dumbly, his acting on point.

**“Sorry, but did you mean me? How did you know used to play volleyball?”** He pretended to freak out a bit, his arms waving in front of himself as he shook his head back and forth quickly. The stutter in his voice even sounded authentic. **“Oh no. I-I recognize you now. I played you at my first and only game of volleyball in middle school; you mopped the floor with us! Please, d-don’t be mad at me! Half of my team played just so I could play one game, and they didn’t really know the rules. We didn’t mean to insult you by playing so badly. I-I swear!”**

Kageyama stepped forward in order to tower over Hinata. Even as the shorter boy’s heart skipped a beat at the prospect of Kageyama standing so close to him and looking down at him, he managed a theatrical-sounding gulp.

**“I’m not mad at you, moron.”** It felt weird not calling him a dumbass, but the girls had said they needed the musical to be child appropriate. **“I want you to play volleyball with me. You might not think much of yourself, but that single point you scored on us was because of that amazing jump you just did. With someone like that on the team no one will call Karasuno the wingless crows again.”**

**“But I don’t have any technical skills, and I’m far too clumsy! I can’t—”**

**“You can!”**

Hinata, following the movement cue in his notes, took a half step back from Kageyama.

**“I can’t.”**


	6. Act 1, Scene 3!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: The song the lyrics in this chapter are sung to and based off of is The Other Side from The Greatest Showman.

Both of them waited for Kinoshita to start the instrumental to the next song before Hinata turned around. He needed to pretend to walk away, and Kageyama needed to pretend to chase after him. When The Other Side did begin to play, Narita ran up and handed Kageyama a volleyball as a prop for the song. The moment the setter had it in his hands he put in under his arm, his other hand reaching out to grab Hinata by the back of his shirt.

 _"Hold on, stop there. Don't you go anywhere."_ He spun Hinata around so that the ginger had to face him. _"Can't believe what I saw. How did you do it? Never mind, shorty. I saw what I need to see. That jump is exactly what I'm seeking."_

He bounced the volleyball twice before throwing it at Hinata, who caught it with a huff.

 _"So use that jump and speed for something practical. Join our sports club, Volleyball specifically."_ He reached a hand out in offering before he pointed at himself proudly in the next verse. _"Might lack experience, but you don't look too dense. You'll learn it all with me. Why don't you take a little risk and trust me to help you win? You've got the skills we need, so join our team. Give volleyball a try. Or you can do what losers do,"_ at this Hinata frowned, becoming angry and upset, _"and just ignore me. Don't give it a chance and fail before you can succeed. But I promise it'll bring you pride. You'll be invincible by my side."_

Hinata threw the ball back at Kageyama and replied in song the moment the last syllable left his mouth.

 _"Hold on, you jerk, how do you know I'll work? It sucks to hear but I'm good for nothing!"_ Some of the anger faded only to be replaced with sadness. He looked down at his feet. _"Can't serve, can't receive, can't do anything. A vicious cycle of mediocrity I'm trapped in. Look I admire you,"_ he raised his head, meeting the setter's eyes, _"and the whole sport thing too. It sounds amazing, but I missed everything."_ His fingers clenched into fists. As he sang the next few lines he threw an arm out to the side in frustration. _"Three years played with the girls, only one real game under by belt; it's not enough to play with you."_

Stepping back and throwing both arms back into the air, he spread them out wide as if to show his character was just fine.

 _"Can't you see that I'm okay? It's not like I wanted to play. I don't have what they need so find some other guy. A shorty like me can't fly. So just leave me alone and I'll be on my way. Not a crow so I don't need help flying. Wins? Hah! I could only score one point,"_ he gripped his shirt over his heart tightly as if singing the next few words were painful, _"so find some other guy."_

 _"Is that really how you want your story to end?"_ Suga stepped in. _"Never having played with a group of friends."_

Hinata sighed. _"If I played with you then I'd just drag you down. You'd realize you wouldn't want me around."_

Asahi walked forward as well. _"That's not true; your smile lights up the town."_

 _"With some practice you won't be messing around,"_ Noya joined in.

 _"Look up and start listening,"_ Suga resumed, _"having hope is the first step to believing."_

Tanaka walked up to Hinata and slapped him on the back. _"Chin up, man. Take that first step!"_

Kageyama nodded. _"We'll leave the decision to you."_

Preparing for his change of heart, Hinata stepped back into Kageyama's personal space timidly.

_"I enjoy spiking, but had no one to set to me. How many of your tosses would I be hitting?"_

_"Just enough to make sure our team is winning. The better you get the more tosses you'll be getting."_

_"You said my jumps are great, and you'll make me invincible?"_

_"Of course I did. You'll be flying in no time!"_

Hinata frowned before squinting at him. _"You sure?"_

_"I don't lie!"_

_"Really?"_ Now he was hopeful.

_"Trust me."_

_"Fine."_

A pause, and then they were harmonizing, Hinata with a hopeful, joyous expression while Kageyama seemed all too smug.

_"Aren't you glad we get to play with a team that'll take a guy like me? Sounds too good to be true but we're willing to take a dive. These old crows will fly."_

_"If you jump like you do,"_ Kageyama started.

 _"And if you set to me,"_ Hinata agreed.

Suga's voice rang out over theirs before everyone joined in for the last verse. _"These two newbies will lead us to victory!"_

_"Oh, yeah! Karasuno's going to fly! Thanks for giving our team a try!"_

_"If you jump like you do—"_

_"And if you set to me—"_

_"Karasuno's going to fly! Glad to give this team a try,"_ they finished together, grinning almost maniacally. Once Kinoshita stopped the music there were cheers from Yachi, Yamaguchi, Takeda, and… Coach Ukai? Apparently he'd walked in halfway through the song.

"Great job everyone!" Ukai was grinning from ear to ear. "That was honestly way better than I ever thought you guys could pull off in the span of a couple days, but I should have expected this from the lot of you. You're all hard workers. It only makes sense you would put your passion into the Cultural Festival too."

He was met with cheers of agreement.

"Anyway, it's about time to start volleyball practice for the day. Why don't you guys take a quick water break, take some time to change, and meet back here to warm up in fifteen minutes?" He turned to Takeda. "Does that sound okay?"

"Yep! Everybody make sure to put your scripts away," he directed at the team. "We'll start from where we left off in the morning!"

By the time they were done practicing it was well past sundown. It was cold, which was to be expected for it being so late during the beginning of November.

"Can I stay just a bit longer?" Hinata begged.

"Me too." Kageyama added.

Tanaka started to say he'd do it only to be stopped by Daichi.

"Nope. We already cleaned up, and if I let you all stay you'll be too tired to practice properly in the morning. It'll also just get colder out. Hinata, don't you have a thirty minute bike ride home?"

The ginger pouted. "Maybe…"

Suga ruffled Hinata's hair. "We'll play plenty tomorrow. Oh, but before we part ways how about we get pork buns as a team? It'll be my treat."

"Our treat," Daichi amended.

"Free food!" Noya, Tanaka, and Hinata shouted excited. "Thanks mom and dad!"

While Suga beamed under the attention Daichi hid his happiness under a flushed face. Kiyoko commented something Hinata didn't hear, but whatever it was had the captain and vice captain blushing even more. He couldn't pay too much attention to his upperclassmen freaking out though; he had a plan to execute. He just needed to wait until they were farther from school grounds.

"Oh Kageyama!" He sang while running up to him, his bike in tow. They had been walking for over ten minutes which meant now was a good enough time to try it. "Will you go out with me now?"

"No."

Nearly everyone on the team took the second rejection with a wince, yet Hinata seemed undeterred. "Ugh, fine, but can I borrow your jacket?"

"Why?"

"I forgot mine at school and I'm cold," he pouted, strengthening his own shivers when Kageyama's eyes fell on his form. "Please? Just for tonight?"

"Fine."

The setter stopped walking, shed his jacket, and held it out to Hinata with a complicated look on his face. Immediately Hinata pulled it on, zipping it up only to stare at himself when he realized it almost covered up his shorts.

"Wow, it's so big. It's like I'm swimming in it!"

Of course Kageyama took in the wrong way.

"Fine then! If it doesn't fit then why don't you ask Noya about borrowing his?"

"Nope! I like your jacket," he retorted with a lilt to his voice. One would almost call it flirting. "It's warm and it smells like you. It feels almost like boyfriend material," he winked.

"It's polyester, dumbass."

"Kageyama!"

Behind them the rest of the team just watched as Hinata bounced around in his crush's jacket, the crush himself blushing but not seeming to understand he was being flirted with.

"Should we help them?" Yamaguchi asked Tsukishima.

"We might have to do something to urge the king along," the middle blocker responded. "I bet on them getting together in the same pool as Suga. If we want to get the rest of the team to pay up the king needs to realize his queen isn't just playing around. We need to make him jealous."

"And how will we do that? Hinata wouldn't flirt with us just to get Kageyama's attention. He's too nice for that."

"He doesn't flirt with us; we flirt with him."

"B-but I can't do that in good conscience."

Tsukishima grinned. "You can't, but to win this bet and to piss the king off I can act a little bit. We're also going running tomorrow after we practice for the musical in the afternoon, right?"

"Yes, but what does that—"

"Just keep your eyes on Kageyama, Tadashi. I'll handle the dirty work."

_The next day…_

Kageyama wasn't having a good day.

First he'd lost the race to practice to Hinata, finally giving the ginger a two point lead on him. Then said teammate had confessed to him that he liked him again. Kageyama had been forced to reject him a third time. Somehow Hinata's smile hadn't fallen, which was a blessing, but it didn't help the sadness curling in his gut.

During practice for the Cultural festival he forgot almost half of lines, leading to Yachi politely asking him to use his script just until he was sure he didn't need it. When volleyball practice came around his head cleared marginally; however, he finally realized why he'd been so distracted in the morning. Something, or someone, was setting him on edge.

Tsukishima.

 _Why the hell is he standing to close to Hinata whenever he possibly can? Wasn't he usually attached to Yamaguchi?_ The setter thought angrily. _Not that I mind of course. I don't._

Except he did. He did mind, and the only person oblivious to what was going on was Hinata. The other members of the team noticed the sudden development and realized it for what it was almost instantly. Between how uncharacteristically nice Tsukishima was being to Hinata, which Hinata thought was super weird, and the annoyance radiating off of Kageyama it wasn't hard to tell what was going on.

It wasn't until it school ended and everyone was in the locker room that Tsukishima upped his game.

"Hey, idiot." The tall middle blocker poked Hinata on the forehead. "I have a question to ask you."

"My name's Hinata, you jerk! How many times have I told you I'm not going to keep answering to simpleton or idiot?"

"Many times, but you keep answering me anyway so what's the point of me stopping?"

Hinata growled in response, but the sound died in his throat when Tsukishima leaned over and put his face directly in front of the shorter boy's. He made sure out of the corner of his eye that Kageyama was watching.

"So, can I ask you that question now?"

"W-why are you so close?" Hinata wanted to step back, but to Tsukishima it would be like losing a battle of pride. So he stood his ground even if the tips of his ears were beginning to turn pink. "I mean, yeah, go ahead and ask. I might not answer though."

The blond chuckled, bringing a hand to Hinata's cheek. Around them various members of the team were murmuring to one another trying to figure out why Tsukishima was trying to help the couple-to-be by making Kageyama jealous. The one he was trying to make jealous on the other hand was frozen in place. His blue eyes were wide, his hands curled into white-knuckled fists.

"Hinata," Tsukishima said each syllable languidly and individually. "Since our resident king of the court rejected you yesterday how about you go out on a date with me instead? If you're into jerks I'm sure I can make you fall for me."

His voice was more suave than anyone besides Yamaguchi had ever heard. Everyone watched in suspense as Kageyama's face twisted with anger, a foot lifting as if to yank his teammate off Hinata, but someone else was quicker.

Hinata shoved Tsukishima away with an indignant shout.

"That's not funny, Jerky-shima! My feelings can't be swayed that easily! What kind of guy do you take me for?" He huffed, pulling out the jacket he'd been borrowing since the night prior. It was zipped on with a determined stare. "Even if he tells me no a hundred times I'm not going to give up until he takes my confession seriously. Just you wait!"

With that the ginger stormed out saying he was going to get a head start on the team's warm-up run. They were doing volleyball practice early that day because coach Ukai would be busy watching the store later in the evening.

Kageyama walked straight up to Tsukishima with one of his signature glares.

"Don't touch him again," he stated simply before turning to leave. He was stopped by a click of the other player's tongue.

"If you don't want anyone else to bother your queen then perhaps you should do something about it."

Instead of responding the setter just left, leaving the rest of the team to wonder if perhaps Tsukishima's ploy had been enough to kick Kageyama's butt into gear.


	7. Intermission 1

Hinata really needed to stop losing focus when he was running.

“Where am I this time?” He groaned as he wandered around the street. Everything looked unfamiliar. Part of him blamed Tsukishima for riling him up like he had, but another part of Hinata knew it was his own fault for being inattentive to his surroundings. “Maybe I’ll run into Kenma again, or maybe Ushijima.”

“Do my eyes deceive me? Is that Karasuno’s number ten I see?”

“Grand king?”

Oikawa sauntered over to where Hinata was standing. When the setter noticed the too big uniform jacket hanging off of the decoy he raised an eyebrow.

“What’s with the getup, chibi-chan? Also, why do you look so lost?”

“I look lost ‘cause I am lost,” was the grumbled response. “And I borrowed Kageyama’s jacket because it’s chilly outside.”

The Aobajohsai player seemed intrigued. “Ah, the boyfriend jacket. You two finally got together then?”

“No. I just convinced him to lend it to me.”

“I see.”

“He didn’t believe me when I asked him to go out with me,” Hinata said after a moment of consideration. “He believes I like him but not like I do volleyball.”

“Ouch. You picked quite the person to fall for haven’t you, pipsqueak?”

“Hey! Don’t make fun of me! You might not be able to comprehend how great he is, but to me he’s amazing. Just… stupidly stubborn sometimes.”

“Tobio’s never been the greatest emotionally; you know this. I would just keep hounding him about it until he gets it through his think skull that you are being one-hundred percent genuine.”

“That’s what I’ve been doing, but I also don’t want to overwhelm him or seem like I’m doing something frowned upon. I mean I can take no for answer. It’s just his dismissal doesn’t seem real because he doesn’t actually believe my confessions are serious.”

“I get where you’re coming from, little crow, I do.”

“Really?”

“Yep. Iwa-chan didn’t take my first declaration of love seriously either. Luckily for me when I started crying he realized I wasn’t messing with his feelings and he gave me a chance to explain to him how I feel. Now we’re happily dating! The girls still have trouble leaving me alone, but since Iwa isn’t the jealous type it hasn’t caused any issues. Speaking of jealousy, would it help your situation if I led you back to your team? Tobio will surely be unhappy to see the two of us together.”

Hinata shook his head. “I’d appreciate you pointing me in the right direction, but I don’t want to make Kageyama anything other than happy. Making him jealous is just mean. Besides, Tsukishima just did basically what you recommended.”

“What did the giant do?”

“He, uh, flirted with me in front of Kageyama to rile him up. It just ended up making me mad though. That’s not how I want to get through to him.”

Oikawa smiled, reaching out and resting a hand on the other boy’s head. “You’re very kind, Hinata. I’m sure you’ll get through to him; however, if you do ever need to enlist in my help there’s no need to be shy.” With his other hand the setter took out a small piece of paper. After giving the ginger a good hair ruffle he pulled out a pen from his uniform pocket and scribbled something down.

“What is this?” Hinata asked before looking at it more closely. “Wait, is this your number?”

The brunette grinned handsomely. “It is! Some girls would fight you to have that, you know.” He then leaned down into Hinata’s personal space before whispering in the shorter boy’s ear. “Maybe we can practice together sometime? I can teach you some moves that will help you woo Tobio in no time.”

Before Hinata could respond or ask why Oikawa was treating him like one of his fangirls a very familiar voice rang across the road.

“Ah, if it isn’t Tooru Oikawa.”

The moment Oikawa heard Karasuno’s the third-year setter call him by his full name he knew he was in trouble. He quickly withdrew himself from Hinata’s bubble and put his hands up in a placating manner.

“Mr. Refreshing! I mean, Sugawara-san, was it? Hello! I was just about to help your little crow find his way back to his nest.”

His words didn’t seem to matter much though. Suga’s eyes were terrifying. However, instead of them being full of anger, the flames they held were an icy blue to match the frozen smile on his face as he walked over.

“There’s no need for that now that I’m here. Please do tell me what do you thought you were doing to my son. You weren’t planning on hurting him, right? Hmm?”

The aura radiating from Suga reminded him of Iwaizumi when he was in a bad mood, which meant Oikawa needed to do something to deter his wrath stat.

“I’d never hurt your little sun! He was just telling me about his Tobio troubles and seeking some advice. I was going to offer him my help in making Tobio jealous, but it seems he’s too pure of heart for a method like that.”

“Of course he is; he’s a good boy!” Suga agreed. “I practically raised him!”

Hinata squinted. “No? I mean since I joined the team you’ve helped me out quite a bit but I’m pretty sure my biological mother—”

He was cut off by Suga leading him into a hug. Suga, with his chin resting atop Hinata’s orange head of fluff, gave Oikawa a smile that was definitely the farthest from a smile he’d ever seen.

“Don’t argue with me. I’ll tell Daichi you made me sad. As for you, Oikawa, if you try to meddle in my boy’s love life Kageyama’s no longer going to be the only setter to be put on your shit list. Not after I’m done with you.”

“Ooh,” Hinata held the noise. “Suga, you just swore! I’m telling Dad-chi!”

“Tell him and you’re grounded.”

Oikawa took this as his chance to run away. He’d always known underneath Suga’s kind exterior there was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. There was no way Oikawa was messing with the crows again anytime soon.

_At practice later that evening._

“Okay, it’s time for Hinata’s solo song.”

“Actually can we skip it for today?”

“Again? Hinata, this is the second time you haven’t wanted to sing the song you were so excited about originally. Is there something wrong?” Daichi glanced at the managers worriedly. “Are you two making changes to it, or something?”

Kiyoko shook her head while Yachi just frowned. “We’re not. Yachi asked this morning if he needed any edits, but he just told her he needed time to get the singing down.”

“Exactly,” Hinata said. Daichi seemed unconvinced so he continued. “I just need more time to get the notes down right. Like I can sing it but the song is a powerful one and if I can’t deliver it perfectly it’ll be like I’m letting the whole team down. I just can’t figure out what feels off about it!” He pulled at his hair until an idea popped into his head. “Actually… Ya-chan, Kiyoko-chan? Do you two mind coming in a little earlier tomorrow to help me figure out what’s going on?”

“Of course we can. I’ll make sure to get the key from Tanaka,” the third-year manager agreed.

Yachi nodded repeatedly. “I’m sure you sound great, Hinata, but if you think something is off then we’ll get to the bottom of it!”

Hinata emitted his signature sunny grin. “Thanks, both of you!”

None of them noticed Kageyama paying particularly close attention to the exchange. It seemed like a certain dark-haired setter would be getting up earlier as well.

“Okay, well if you don’t feel like singing why don’t Kageyama and you work on your fight scene?”

Hinata turned to Kageyama with determination in his gaze.

“That’s a great idea, captain! Kageyama, get over here and let me punch you!”

“Dumbass, it’s a mock fight. It has to look realistic but we can’t actually hurt each other.”

“What about the part at the end after we get broken apart where you walk up and slap me? Do we have a _twack_ sound effect?”

Daichi sighed before asking Kinoshita and Narita. “Do we have a slapping sound effect?”

Narita frowned. “I don’t think so.”

“We can probably find one that’s fair use,” Kinoshita said. “Give us a little bit and we’ll—”

“There’s no need for that.” Hinata interrupted. “He can just slap me for real! It’s not like he doesn’t hit me upside the head all the time anyway. One little slap won’t hurt.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Daichi could already feel Suga’s protective gaze on them.

However, Hinata had already approached Kageyama. The ginger was smiling at the taller boy. “You won’t chicken out at the last second, right?” He challenged. “Or if you want I can make you mad so it’s easier for you. I know you’ve been getting secretly annoyed every time I ask you out. Hey, Kageyama, will you go out with me?”

Kageyama had no idea what came over him the next few seconds. All he knew what that Hinata had literally asked for it, and for some reason the idea of slapping some sense into the decoy sounded like a great idea.

A large smack got the attention of most of the team.

The gym was silent until Hinata slowly brought his hand to the red mark on his cheek. His eyes were wide which meant the moment tears sprung to them it was easy to see. Kageyama was about to open his mouth to apologize when a grin lit up Hinata’s face.

“Great job! You hit just hard enough to make a nice slap sound but not enough for it to really hurt!”

“Hinata you dumbass if that’s true then why are you crying?”

“I’m not crying!” He wiped his face and was shocked to find his arm was a bit wet. “Oh, well those were just my body reacting to the stinging feeling. I swear I’m fine. I’ll show you; do it again!”

“The hell I am!”

“That’s correct. Neither of you will be laying a hand on each other again.”

Both boys froze when they felt not only Suga but this time Daichi standing behind them as well.

“What he said,” Daichi stated. “From now on play fighting only.” He winced like he can’t believe he actually said that. “Kinoshita will find a sound effect, got it?”

“Yes, dad…”


	8. Act 2, Scene 1!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: The song the lyrics in this chapter are sung to and based closely off of is Never Enough from The Greatest Showman. I highly recommend listening to the original because the original works well in its own right for this scene!

_The next morning, very, very early in the morning._

A chord of annoyance struck Kageyama when he arrived outside the gym they used for volleyball.

“Why are all of you here?” He hissed. In front of the main entrance either trying to listen through the crack of the doors or peek over the windows were a handful of his teammates, specifically all of the third-year players, Noya, and Tanaka.

Asahi put a finger to his lips in the universal sign of “stay quiet”.

“We came because if Hinata is getting singing advice then there’s a chance of Kiyoko singing in order to give said advice,” Tanaka spoke like it was obvious. “Yachi and Hinata are pulling the equipment out as we speak. Kiyoko is currently looking over her notes, beautifully so if I might add.”

“Very beautifully,” Noya agreed.

Kageyama looked at his upperclassmen like he was missing something.

“I don’t understand. Isn’t everyone here besides Tanaka gay? Why are you all so obsessed with our manager?”

Noya seemed affronted by those statements. “Excuse you, but I’m pansexual! Asahi here is bisexual.”

Daichi shrugged. “He got Suga and I right though. We’re very much gay. Still, Kiyoko is a goddess in Tanaka’s eyes so when we realized he would try to spy on their morning practice we all decided to come to make sure he wouldn’t do something stupid. The last thing we need is him barging in during Hinata’s song and ruining it. A better question would be why are you here, Kageyama?”

The first-year looked away guiltily.

“Hinata’s been pissing me off. He won’t sing his solo or the second duet he has with me. His voice is just fine when he sings with everyone else, so I thought I’d swing by to see— I mean hear— what the big deal is.”

Suga nodded in understanding. “We were curious about that as well. I guess we’ll find out soon. Look, Yachi is giving him a microphone.”

Those eavesdropping outside watched through the window as Hinata stood on the stage. Kiyoko and Yachi were sitting a ways away with their legs hanging off the stage, a laptop with its cord connected to the sound system in Yachi’s lap. Kiyoko had a notebook and pen in her hand.

“What do you think they’re saying?” Noya asked.

Asahi sighed. “Unless they put microphones on we won’t know. I mean, we could sneak in through the back entrance, but there’s a chance they might hear us come in. We wouldn’t be able to see what’s happening either.”

“We could just slide the main door open a little bit,” Suga suggested. “From where they are sitting they wouldn’t be able to notice it being propped open a few centimeters from this angle. It’s unlikely they’d look in this direction either.”

Kageyama was already expertly sliding the door open millimeter by millimeter until the boys could hear three voices echoing across the gym.

“Are you ready, Hinata?” Yachi asked politely. “I have the instrumental pulled up whenever you are.”

“Is there anything we should be listening for? I didn’t hear anything wrong when you were practicing your scales as a warm up.” Kiyoko said.

The ginger ran a hand through his hair sheepishly.

“I’m not really sure if it’s my tone or attitude, or maybe a cue that I’m missing? Sorry. I don’t know why the song doesn’t feel right. If it’s all in my head maybe you guys can tell me that too.”

“I’m sure if you feel there’s something off then there’s something off,” the older manager comforted. “But we’ll help figure it out together. Just let us know when you’re ready.”

“Thank you, Kiyoko-chan! You too, Ya-chan!” After several seconds of him hyping himself up only to deflate into calm as he took a long breath he turned on his mic. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Yachi pressed play on Never Enough, the regal piano music sweeping over and outside the gym. In the calmness of the morning even Hinata’s soft voice cut through the quiet like a knife through butter.

 _“I’m trying to finally grow,”_ he started with his eyes closed. His arms were close to his chest as his voice wavered, like the words he was singing were fragile. _“If I remain this way, my time on the court will end. Can’t let our quick be it. You’re my setter now, but do you hear me asking?”_ He grew marginally louder, his head tilting upwards and his eyes half-opening. _“I took your hand. You told me to play with you. But I can’t succeed without you.”_

Kageyama’s jaw clenched. His feelings were at war inside him; elation at hearing his partner singing so beautifully about him, anger that Hinata had been trying to keep him from hearing this, and the compelling desire to hug the boy close wracked his brain. The others glanced at him in concern. They could tell from the intense look in Kageyama’s eyes that he was trying to keep it together.

Then the performance got even harder for them to keep from reacting.

 _“All the praise of a hundred voices, all the points we steal from the opponents won’t ever be enough. The quick’s not enough.”_ Hinata’s arms moved fluidly to either side, his palms down, hands out in front of him. His eyes slipped shut again as he drew in fast, deep breaths between the operatic lines he went on to sing. _“Relying on your skills is too short-sighted. Your hands could toss the world,”_ his hands reached toward the ceiling before returning to his chest, _“but it'll never be enough. I’m not good enough,”_ he held the note before continuing even louder, _“for you._ _Never, ever. Never, ever. Never. To me. To me.”_

 _“Not enough!”_ He belted, confident and passionate. _“Not enough! Not enough! To me. To me. To me.”_

He took a step forward on the stage, his eyes snapping open to stare at nothing. Perhaps something in his head? Either way his entire body moved as he continued the song, his arms and hands making all sorts of movements in the air before him as he struggled to keep his eyes open and lungs full.

_“All their words are still ringing, in my head they say alone I’m nothing! I’ll never be enough. Won’t ever be enough.”_

From outside where Kageyama watched in awe he felt his heartbeat quicken. He knew Hinata was just singing the lyrics Yachi had written based off his feelings after their fight, the one about opening his eyes for the quick, but even if that was past them the setter knew those feelings were true at one point. It hurt to know Hinata had been that upset. Past guilt made him want to praise the decoy until he was a blushing mess.

 _“As a pair we can do anything, but alone it’s obvious that I will never be enough. I’m not good enough. Trust me. I’ll never, ever. Never, ever. Never, be just me. Just me.”_ Another huge breath. _“Never alone! Never, ever. Never alone. Never, ever. Never alone. Not me. Not me. Not me!”_ His voice dropped, his brown eyes opening to look at the girls watching him like he was the most amazing thing they’d ever seen. Their reactions made him falter. The last words of the song broke, but he’d been going for that effect either way. _“Trust me.”_

The moment the instrumental died down Hinata shook the hyper focused state he’d been in off. He looked to the girls like a puppy awaiting a ball to be thrown, eyes wide and expectant.

“How was that? Did anything sound weird to you?”

His questions echoed across the room as he spoke. He neglected to turn off his mic even as he jumped down from the stage so he could drape his arms over it instead.

Yachi, ever the emotional one, wiped the tears from her eyes.

“I can’t believe you made the lyrics I wrote for the song sound so darn amazing!” She cried out, her high-pitched voice almost louder than he was with the mic. “I felt that, Hinata. It gave me goose bumps.”

“Really?” It sounded like he didn’t believe her. “Huh. I just let myself sing while feeling what the lyrics made me remember. Did it really sound that good? There’s nothing I could improve on?”

Kiyoko put a hand on her chin in thought. “From an audience standpoint it’s obvious you’ve been practicing that song to the point of perfection. I personally didn’t hear anything wrong with it.”

Hinata seemed relieved. He heaved a great sigh, which made the players listening wince at the loudness of it. On the other hand, when he spoke next his words were soft.

“That’s good to hear. I’ve been practicing nonstop in order to make this song something special that will blow Kageyama away.”

Yachi was intrigued. “Huh? Why?”

“He keeps not taking my feelings seriously,” he complained. Even so his face began to heat up a bit, from frustration or embarrassment they weren’t sure. “I was thinking if I impressed him well enough by singing something amazing he might pay more attention to me. Obviously hitting awesome spikes aren’t working, but maybe the song will? That way when I tell him for the half-dozenth time how I feel he’ll give me a serious answer. I haven’t been taking his repeated ‘no’ to heart because I know he isn’t properly responding to my feelings yet, but I’ve also been scared. What if I sing, tell him, and then he still doesn’t get it? Everyone keeps trying to give me advice or help me by making him jealous but I want to make him happy!”

“You really like him don’t you Hinata.”

It wasn’t a question. Kiyoko, like many of the other club members, could see how Hinata felt just by seeing the way he looked at Kageyama.

“Yes, I do. It’s not like the love I have for volleyball. He’s my best friend and partner, and I want to shower him with the affection he deserves. I want to make him smile those creepy-looking smiles, and his genuine ones. He brings out the best in me. I only hope I bring out the best in him too. But I want to be with him off the court as well as on the court. I dunno. I guess we should wrap up though; it’s getting close to when he usually shows up.” He sighed, finally reaching up to turn off his mic.

At the same time as the conversation had been going on it took three people to hold Kageyama back. He wanted to burst into the gym which would have been fine if not for the scary, cold look in his eyes. The moment Daichi had noticed the setter’s eyes become like that he’d whispered for the others to stop him from doing something rash. Between Asahi and Noya’s grip on Kageyama’s shirt and Tanaka’s arms encircling his waist it was all they could do to stop him from barging in.

“Let me go,” the younger setter demanded. “I need to talk to him!”

“Be quiet!” Suga warned. “If they find out you were spying on them—”

“I don’t care!”

“Kageyama,” Daichi said sharply. “We wouldn’t have a problem letting you walk in there but you look like you’re about to do or say something you’ll regret.”

Ignoring the words of his captain, Kageyama shouted “Hinata you dumbass!” loud enough to be heard across the gym. He did this before Daichi could slap a hand over his mouth. It was too late for the six of them now though; immediately upon hearing the shout the trio inside noticed movement outside the now ajar door. The girls stopped what they were doing, yet Hinata seemed to not only freeze but also go pale at the sound of his partner’s voice.

“K-Kageyama?”

Knowing the cat was out of the bag, Tanaka’s grip slacked enough that when Kageyama went from docile to bolting he successfully ran into the gym. Of course the first thing Kageyama did while looking like someone had purposely popped his volleyball was corner Hinata between the stage and himself. He put an arm on either side of Hinata almost like he was caging him in. It would have been cute if not for the anything but loving look on the setter’s face. Behind him he could hear the other guys running up, but something about Hinata’s vibrant eyes and the brave expression on his face told them to not interfere.

Kageyama wasted no time cutting corners.

“I heard what you said. Confession number seven, right?” He asked harshly. All Hinata could do was nod. “You’re actually serious about liking me. What the hell, Hinata? We have other things to focus on other than each other! Volleyball is supposed to be our top priority. Winning is our top priority, or so I thought. It appears you can’t help but fall in love with your teammate in your spare time.”

“Can we…” Hinata’s mouth felt dry as he tried to force himself to speak. The confidence he’d mustered just moments ago to face Kageyama’s answer was breaking. His heart had told him not to worry about rejection, yet here was the harsh reality he’d barely thought of coming true. “If you’re going to be like this can we at least talk somewhere private?”

“You had no problem shouting your feelings to me out in front of the entire team. You should have no complaints about letting me answer you right now.”

“Kage—”

“I can’t return your feelings. I will not go out with you.”

There was an audible gulp from Hinata. That was the only noise he made as he stared unblinking at the floor, his eyes glassy and lips wobbly as he attempted to remain composed.

“Okay.”

The word was whispered, probably because if the ginger spoke any louder everyone would hear his throat closing up.

“Okay,” Kageyama nodded. He dropped his arms and took a step back. “As long as it’s clear this time.”

“C-crystal.”

Like a robot Hinata turned ninety degrees, walking a large square around where his teammates were standing. It was only when he left the gym that anyone else acted.


	9. Act 2, Scene 2!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: The song the lyrics in this chapter are sung to and based off of is This is Me from The Greatest Showman.

Daichi, sighing loudly, merely looked at Yachi. The smart girl nodded and ran after her friend. The others, bless their self-control, kept their mouths shut as they walked to the changing room. Suga looked like he wanted to chase after Hinata as well but he held himself back; if he left Asahi would have to wrangle the second-years alone. Kiyoko busied herself with putting the sound equipment away. This left Daichi to walk over to the unmoving Kageyama.

“Are you okay?”

Blue eyes snapped to the captain.

“What? I just broke his heart and you’re asking _me_ that?”

“Kageyama, you’re a genius when it comes to volleyball. You’re an idiot when it comes to people, and yourself. I know you just went out of your way to reject him in the rudest, most hurtful way possible. It was completely uncalled for. However, I’m your captain. I—no, the entire team, in fact, knows you’re terrible at talking to people or expressing your own feelings. Once Hinata recovers I’m sure he’ll realize you just lied to his face.”

The setter turned his head away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You do. Hinata is the only person who knows you well enough to read you when no one else can. He sees the real you, Kageyama. It’s not every day you meet someone who looks at you the way he does either. Not to mention you’re both head over heels for volleyball,” he added while gingerly resting a hand on the other’s shoulder. He knew Kageyama usually hated being touched, yet right now he seemed like he needed this. “You do return his feelings, don’t you?”

“Romantic feelings don’t matter. They’ll just get in the way of us playing as a team.”

“And breaking his heart won’t?”

“That’s on him.”

“You’re hurting yourself too, you know. Your fear of the future is stopping you from letting yourself be happy. You want to go out with Hinata. Anyone with eyes can see it.”

“I’m not taking any chances.”

Daichi dropped his hand, closing his eyes as he thought over what to say. “No one is going to make you do anything,” he eventually responded. “I’m sure we’d all like to see you apologize to Hinata for being so out of line with how you handled rejecting him, but you’re old enough to do as you see fit. Whatever you do or don’t do we’ll still be your friends.”

Silence, and then: “Suga is going to be giving me the stink eye for weeks.”

The casual yet forlorn comment made Daichi laugh. “You might be right about that! Still, even if he seems angry with you it doesn’t mean that he won’t talk to you if you need him. Suga is just as protective over you as he is Hinata. He’s protective of all his friends, really. It’s one of the reasons I love him.”

At the same time as their conversation Yachi huffed as she followed Hinata up the small hill outside the gym.

“Hinata! Come back!”

He kept running until he reached the tree where he stood stock still in front of it. Since he’d taken off ~~his~~ Kageyama’s jacket before singing that morning his arms were bare in the morning cold. Tiny puffs of air could be seen coming out of his mouth as he breathed.

“Hinata,” she panted once she’d joined him. She stood a few feet behind him just to make sure she gave him the space he needed. When she heard the telltale sounds of sobs being cut short she felt her own eyes tear up. “I’m so sorry, Hinata. I know it hurts. It’s okay to cry; there’s no one else here but me. If you want I can go, but unless you tell me to leave I’ll wait here with you. I’m here if you need anything.”

After she’d finished talking she heard his sniffles turn into a single long keen. The moment he turned around and saw there were already tears streaming down her face as well they opened their arms and closed the distance between each other.

Yachi wrapped her arms around him loosely, his own arms circling around and gripping her back tighter than he usually would when he hugged her. After crying in each others’ ears for several seconds she could tell he was shaking. Slowly she coaxed him into following her to his knees; once they were both kneeling on the ground his head fell onto her shoulder.

“I was s-so sure he felt the same way,” he hiccuped. When Yachi’s slender hand began carding through his hair the halting sounds lessened somewhat. “But even when I thought about him saying no I didn’t think he’d be that furious.”

“Some people use anger to hide how they’re truly feeling,” she offered helpfully. Or at least she hoped she was being helpful.

Minutes passed. Yachi kept playing with Hinata’s hair until the tears on his face had long since stopped, the tracks on his face drying. When he pulled away he cleaned his face on his shirt (he was going to change anyway), and set his mouth into the tiniest of smiles. The corners of his eyes were still red. They were the only signs left indicating he’d been crying.

“Thank you, Ya-chan.” He pecked her cheek, something that would have usually had her blushing if not for the tenderness of the action. “Now that I’ve thought it over I think Kageyama was lying to me.”

“What?”

“He said he couldn’t return my feelings, not that he didn’t feel the same way. I thought maybe I’d read him wrong when he lashed out at me.” He shook his head as if clearing unwanted thoughts. “I don’t think I did though. He’s confused. Something in him is telling him if he accepts my feelings that things will change between us.”

“There _will_ be change.”

“I know there will, but not in a bad way like he’s worried about. He doesn’t want to ruin the team’s momentum before nationals. I _know_ that being together wouldn’t hurt our partnership; we already read each other’s minds on the court. Dating would only strengthen our bond, I’m sure of it. Kageyama’s always been a mess when it comes to getting his desires out into words though. The whole king of the court thing? He doesn’t know how to communicate sometimes, so he demands or shouts to express what he needs. I’ve grown to understand him because that’s just how we are as partners, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t confuse himself. I’m sure he’s all messed up inside like I am right now too.”

His tone was sad, even sadder than when Yachi had talked to Hinata after their first fight. Bracing herself, the blond put her hands on her hips and met his eyes with her own.

“Well, what are you going to do? If you know he’s lying to himself, then you must be planning on doing something.”

He let out a minuscule chuckle.

“I can’t do everything for him just because he’s an idiot, Ya-chan. No, he’ll need to come to me this time. For now I’ll just give him some space because we both need it. Even if his words this morning were a mistake they still stung,” he admitted with a sigh. “We should get going though. The rest of the team will be here for volleyball practice soon.”

“Coach Ukai did tell us he needed to open the store later this morning, didn’t he? We should get going then. You wouldn’t want to miss playing volleyball!”

Practice wasn’t as weird as it could have been. Of course Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, Kinoshita, and Narita had noticed the atmosphere was different. It was hard not to notice the way Suga stuck to Hinata’s side during warm ups, the older setter sending tosses to Kageyama’s usual partner. Noya also seemed particularly… aggressive. He may have hit Kageyama in the back of the head just once with an over the top “oops” rolling off his tongue like he rolled during his signature move. Tanaka had at least given the four who hadn’t been there that morning a quick overview of what occurred. He’d done it subtly, to which those involved were thankful.

The coaches on the other hand…

“Those two have been very quiet this morning,” Ukai commented.

Takeda nodded. “They have. Somehow their performance isn’t worse for lack of communication, which is astounding. I wonder if something happened.”

Both coaches turned to Yachi, who was currently the only manager in the gym. Kiyoko had left to fill up water bottles.

“Eep!” A startled noise left her the moment the older men crowded her. “W-why are you looking at me like that?”

“What’s up with those two today?” Ukai asked as he pointed to the lightning fast duo behind his hand. “They haven’t said more than two words to each other since we got here.”

“Uh, well, Hinata asked out Kageyama again.”

“Oh. It was serious this time, wasn’t it?”

Yachi felt the need to defend her friend’s feelings.

“He’s always been serious,” she spoke up. “Just because he lets himself feel without restraint it doesn’t mean when he speaks his mind that he hasn’t thought things through. Kageyama overheard Hinata saying all the things he liked about him this morning to Kiyoko and I; he reacted badly and ended up rejecting Hinata with more cruelty than necessary.”

Takeda seemed surprised even as a frown formed. “I could have sworn they had chemistry…”

“Me too,” Ukai agreed. “I really hope those boys are okay. It looks like they’re both mature enough to not let this negatively affect their partnership during volleyball, which I admire, but I’m sure they’ve both got their minds on other things.”

“Maybe we could cheer them up?” The English teacher said. His eyes lit up in excitement after a moment. “Actually, one of the coaches from the Tokyo training camp was wondering if we wanted to have a few practice matches with his team soon. I can see if they’re available to take a bus here this Saturday if that works for you?”

“It does. Great idea, specs!”

Yachi tilted her head in curiosity.

“Which team?”

_Saturday._

Eyes golden and catlike widened as he picked up on the sound of music coming from Karasuno’s gym. Kenma looked down at his phone to check the time. It did appear their bus had gotten them to the school twenty minutes ahead of schedule, but their coaches didn’t seem to mind. It was almost like they had counted on arriving early.

“Heard they’re practicing for their Cultural festival in a week,” Coach Nekomata stated as they approached the doors to the gym. A snicker escaped him. “I’m sure they won’t mind us poking out noses in.”

Nekoma’s volleyball team entered the gym just as the instrumental for This Is Me began. Not that it mattered if most of the Karasuno people saw them; the seven singing on stage were too focused on their singing and acting to care. Suga especially. This song belonged to him, Daichi, and Hinata.

 _“We’re not strangers to loss,”_ Suga began in the middle of the stage. Hinata and Daichi were on either side of him, Tanaka and Kageyama farther to the left while Asahi and Noya were off to the right. _“Chin up, they say, because losing is who we are. We've grown accustomed to the words. Wings clipped, no threat. We’ll never be great like we once were, but their words won’t ever get to us. All we need is more practice. We’ll be victorious.”_

He spread his arms out wide and lifted his head up high.

 _“When the toughest team sends us to the ground, we’ll learn and improve until we’re better. We are great, we have room, to grow and overcome. We’re Karasuno.”_ His voice grew more confident, his volume rising as the others around him prepared to join soon for the call and response. _“Watch out we will be back. You can’t expect us to give up. There will always be next time. We vow to win— wait and see.”_

 _“Oh, whoa.”_ Hinata, Tanaka, and Kageyama sang. Daichi, Asahi, and Noya echoed them, and they went back and forth until it was time for Suga’s next verse.

_“Another set brings us to a win. Lost the first, but this match will be ours yet. We are getting better every minute we play. The points are coming—”_

_“Points are coming!”_ Daichi and Hinata sang back.

_“Yeah, let’s get just one more. Not going to let them talk down to us. It’s time we said we had enough. We’ll be victorious.”_

Everyone on stage brought their hands up in sync, clapping as they sang the next verse together in harmony.

_“When the hardest match tears us down, we won’t give, we will not drown. We are great, we improved, we are close to becoming, sky bound again. Watch out ‘cause here we come! Another match it seems we won. It’s not a fluke, don’t you see. We’re not sorry, we are back. We are back!”_

There was more call and response as Suga, Daichi, and Hinata readied themselves for the higher part of the song. When the time came Suga and Daichi sang a line together, Hinata replacing Daichi for the follow up line. It was solely because Hinata could hold a high note far longer.

 _“Volleyball is what we love,”_ the couple started.

 _“Gives us something to be proud of,”_ Suga and Hinata finished.

 _“When the hardest match tears us down,”_ the setter soloed once more, his voice fragile and airy, _“we won’t give we will not drown. We are great, we improved, we are close to becoming sky bound again…”_

Everyone joined in for the remainder of the song, Hinata and Suga holding the accenting notes in the background as the others took over the main melody.

 _“Watch out ‘cause here we come! Another match it seems we won. It’s not a fluke, don’t you see. We’re not sorry, we are back! Karasuno Tokyo bound. Trust us we will make you proud.”_ Their arms flew up at once. _“We are back!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will probably be posted tomorrow evening or later at night. I've been mid move and working, which hadn't been stopping me from writing 2000 words a day, but I'm not going to be home much today or tomorrow so I might need a day to catch up on writing. The whole story is in my head though so updates should still be every other day if not daily like usual. I hope those reading understand I've never written something this quickly before in my like lol; I legit got the idea for this the day I posted the first chapter and have been writing nonstop since then. I am in so in love with Haikyuu!! I watched all of the anime, finished all 402 chapters of the manga, and have been writing this after only being introduced to it a month ago. ^_^


	10. Act 2, Scene 3!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: The song the lyrics in this chapter are sung to and based off of is Rewrite the Stars from The Greatest Showman.

Raucous cheering, wolf whistling, and clapping met their ears.

“Great job country boys!” Kuroo shouted between clasped hands. There was a too wide grin on his face, and his eyes flashed with mirth. “I didn’t know crows could sing!”

Despite being flustered at the team’s early arrival those on the stage jumped down in order to greet the visitors. The fastest to do so was definitely Hinata, the ball of energy running towards Kenma with a shout of pure joy. Thankfully the brain of Nekoma was used to his friend’s antics. He opened his arms marginally so that when Hinata skidded to a stop just a few inches away from hitting him the ginger easily flowed into a tight hug.

“Kenma!” Hinata took great care into not squeezing too hard of course. He knew Kenma wouldn’t like that.

“Shoyo.”

Pulling away, the redhead looked over his friend before breaking out into the most radiant of smiles. “I missed you! And is it me or are you looking a little taller?”

“I think I did grow a centimeter. It looks like you grew two or three though.”

“Really, you think so?”

The two devolved into pleasant conversation, Lev joining them, as the other members made idle chitchat. Kuroo and Daichi were exchanging quips while Tanaka and Noya spoke to the mohawked member of the team. It was only after the coaches of both teams were finished greeting each other that they told everyone to start getting warmed up. Lev ran off to talk to the vice captain about something, leaving Hinata to hurriedly ask Kenma a question before he walked off.

“Hey! You’re coming to the festival in a week, right?”

Kenma nodded. “Yeah. You’re coming over the day after that to play the new Pokémon game?”

“Of course! I wouldn’t miss hanging out with you for the world.”

“You don’t have to say that every time we make plans.”

From afar Kageyama watched the two with mild interest. He knew the other setter was close friends with Hinata due to Hinata’s overwhelmingly warm personality. They’d become fast friends during the first game they’d played against each other; they texted all the time and often stayed at one another’s houses playing video games or just chilling.

Kageyama knew this, yet he felt a pang of unease watching the other setter get such attention. Luckily he was saved from witnessing them interact further by Daichi telling Hinata to hurry up. It was only after warming up that he realized something.

Kenma was staring at him.

 _I wonder if Hinata texted him about what happened._ Kageyama winced, his thoughts being wishful. _Scratch that. I wonder if they talked about it over the phone. He’s probably mad at me, especially since I haven’t apologized yet._

It wasn’t until after the practice match (Karasuno lost, but just barely) that the dual-haired setter finally approached him.

“Kageyama.”

“Kozume,” was the polite response.

The short setter frowned. “Just Kenma is fine. I was just wondering when you’re going to talk to Shoyo about what happened earlier this week.”

 _That was blunt,_ Kageyama mentally growled.

“Not that it’s your business, but I’m planning on talking to him… eventually. Why? Did he say something to you that makes you think he needs to hear an apology from me?”

“It’s nothing like that. I just know everyone’s waiting for things between you two to go back to normal. His smile isn’t as wide as it used to be, you know. Not to mention there’s an undertone of pain when he talked about you on the phone. That’s why I’m talking to you now despite him asking me to leave you alone. I don’t like seeing Shoyo fake a smile.”

Kageyama hid his guilty scowl.

“I didn’t ask him to talk about me.”

“Maybe not, but there are two things he cannot stop talking about: volleyball, and you. I wonder what makes those two things connected.”

His tone was borderline uncaring yet sarcastic. All Kageyama could do in response was watch as Kenma left, the Nekoma setter going to join Lev in saying goodbye to Hinata.

_Monday afternoon._

“I know neither of you feel like practicing the duet, but we only have five days until the performance.”

“I’ve practiced it on my own,” Kageyama argued.

Hinata agreed. “Me too.”

“That might be true; however, a duet is meant to be sung by two people together.” Takeda didn’t want to sound like he was lecturing them. It was hard not to though seeing as they were making it difficult for the rest of their teammates. “Not only will it put you both in a tough spot if the first time you sing it together is on the day of the performance, but your fellow members have yet to hear it either. It’s fine if you want to skip the movement cues today if that’s the issue.”

The ginger turned to look at his partner with a far off look in his gaze. They’d just completed a quick run through of the fight scene, which was more or less a lot of yelling with a few additional sound effects for dramatics. The scene itself was very similar to the actual argument they’d gotten into about their freak quick. The only difference was after the slapping scene at the end there was a part Kiyoko added in concerning Hinata’s character thinking about quitting, which would provide a good lead in to the next song.

“You’re right, sensei.” He admitted after a moment, not wanting to be the reason the song wouldn’t be ready for the musical. “I’m up for practicing it as long as he is.”

“I guess we can sing it once,” Kageyama relented.

Both of them made their way to the stage without another word, unsure glances being exchanged between them every so often once they got onto it. They remained separated by a shortened volleyball net that was set up such so that it could be used as a prop for the musical. During the actual performance it would be stretched out long enough to make a few plays, several scenes taking place while volleyball was being played nonchalantly.

“You guys ready?” Kinoshita called from where he and Narita sat next to the sound equipment and computer.

Kageyama nodded while Hinata gave a half-hearted thumbs up. Their teammates watched with mixed interest and concern, the deep breath Hinata took after turning his mic on sounding like he was preparing himself for a tough exam. He seemed nervous, yet not nearly as nervous as Kageyama. The setter could be seen visibly sweating.

Narita pressed play, the Rewrite the Stars melody beginning immediately. There was no time for Kageyama to ready himself since his part started with the song.

 _“I know you want to,”_ he began, _“try something we’ve never tried.”_ This was in reference to an open-eyed quick attack. _“And I trust you, but the team agrees it’s not the best time. I get the quick’s not enough, but I told you that you’re invincible with me. Don’t listen to their words. Who cares if together is the only way to victory?”_

He stood on the opposite side of the net to Hinata as he sang, watching his rival who merely stood in place as Kageyama tried to reach out to him.

 _“You don’t need to be the star, because you’re already mine.”_ The setter fought off a blush at the lyrics. He needed to remind himself he was singing purely of his volleyball partner. It’s not like he was ready to admit to anything romantic… yet. _“Just keep spiking for me; a decoy like you is so hard to find._ _I do trust you, and you do trust me. No one else forms a greater team.”_ He ducked under the net, joining Hinata on the other side. On cue Hinata jumped away affronted as Kageyama tried to grab his arm. _“Isn’t that enough for you? Needing more seems a bit silly, to me.”_

Hinata rolled his eyes, taking large steps away from Kageyama even as the setter trailed him around the stage. _“You know it’s funny… I think you haven’t been listening. There are obstacles,”_ he sang languidly, _“and barriers I can’t break through. You know you’re sets amaze, but what if you’re not there? If it’s just me how will I climb those walls?”_ He pointed to the top of the net as his expression visibly became more troubled. _“When will you realize, you and the team are keeping me from flying free?”_

He ripped his arm from Kageyama’s theatrically when the taller player finally managed to get his hand on him. He continued trying to get away, his movements quick as he narrowly missed being contained.

 _“It’s not that your sets aren’t the best. Your still tosses blow my mind. But I need to do the rest, and relying on you is holding me back.”_ He turned quickly, looking up at Kageyama with defiant brown eyes. _“I’ll open my eyes, so that I can see, the view on the other side of the net. Will you still toss to me? I might miss a few while I grow,”_ he looked down. _“Sorry.”_

All at once the music grew louder. The energy around them increased steadily with the volume, both players turning to face opposite ends of the stage as their hands moved on their own in front of them. They harmonized perfectly like they’d been practicing together all along.

 _“All I want is to win with you,”_ they cried, _“all I want is to play with you. Please put your faith in me!”_

 _“It seems illogical,”_ Kageyama started.

Hinata turned back around, facing his partner once more with a stretched-out arm. _“It's not illogical.”_

Kageyama spun around and hesitantly reached for his hand. _“Is it possible?”_

The moment he took it they continued singing together, Hinata pulling Kageyama closer all the while. _“It’s not impossible!”_ From where their teammates watched below they could tell the ginger was becoming increasingly fidgety longer they stood so close. _“How can we change how we play, without pushing each other away? This fight has torn us apart. Can we go back to how we were at the start? The fault is in you, the fault is in me.”_ Kageyama turned his head away, which seemed to upset Hinata despite that being a cue. _“What exactly is the solution that we need? Volleyball means a team, which is exactly what we used to be…”_

Their voices died down. At the same time Hinata pulled away, backing away from an unmoving Kageyama and back onto the other side of the net. That was not in his movement notes.

 _“You know I trust you.”_ The ginger’s tone was sad. _“In mind, in body, and heart. But I love Volleyball too. Without growth I’ll just lose to you.”_

He turned and walked off stage, which was exactly what his cue indicated he should do. It definitely had nothing to do with the skin Kageyama had touched feeling like it was on fire. That would just be silly.


	11. Intermission 2

It was the day before the performance and Kageyama and Hinata still hadn’t talked to each other. The ginger had shared with Suga and Daichi halfway through the week that he was waiting for Kageyama to approach him, saying exactly what he had to Yachi about not wanting to always be the one to take initiative. This news had spread to the rest of the players. They tried their best collectively to seem like they _weren’t_ getting impatient with their resident knuckleheads, but there was an undeniable tension between them that made some of the other team members worried. Were they ever going to reconcile? Were they ever going to admit they liked each other? Was the prize money from the bet going to have to be reimbursed because the duo was going to keep pining for each other until they were old?

Mostly the team was just worried they wouldn’t go back to normal. Neither of them seemed particularly as invigorated as they’d once been during volleyball. The lack of Kageyama shouting expletives at Hinata as well as the lack of joyous high-fives and compliments being directed at Kageyama made the entire team feel off kilter.

Which is exactly why Takeda and Ukai agreed to ending volleyball practice early so the boys could have a go at the ninja warrior ramp. While the coaches enjoyed watching their attempts the managers were picking up pork buns and drinks from the store.

“C’mon guys!” Hinata let his feet dangle off the side ledge of the ramp, giddy laughter escaping him as he looked down at his teammates. “If I can do it so can all of you!”

“You bet your ass I can!” Tanaka shouted before he ripped his shirt off. A moment later he was running at the ramp only to miss the top edge by over a foot.

Noya patted his bald head. “Tough luck, man. Maybe next time.”

“Damn it!”

“My turn,” the libero said before taking a deep breath. After a bit of jumping lightly on his feet he took off. He cleared the upward curve and grasped the edge of the ramp with a cry of triumph. Then he just hung there.

“Uh, Noya?” Asahi called from below. “You going to pull yourself up there, buddy?”

There was some struggle and then: “I can’t. Hinata, help pull me up!”

“Hey that’s cheating!” Tanaka argued just as Hinata grabbed the shorter boy’s wrist. When they heard this Hinata reluctantly let go.

“Ugh, fine. Asahi, catch me!”

Seconds later Noya was grinning like a cat who’d caught a canary while being bridal carried by a blushing Asahi.

“Thanks!”

“N-no problem.”

Next Daichi, Suga, and Asahi gave it a try. Had the team captain been able to grab the edge of the ramp he might have been able to pull himself up, but his fingers couldn’t even graze it. Suga had even less luck than that. Asahi managed to get his hands up there. He was in the middle up kicking and pulling himself up when his sweaty palms made him slip, leading to him sliding back down to the ground defeated.

“I think I’ll pass,” Ennoshita said after watching Kinoshita and Narita both fail as well.

Yamaguchi turned to Tsukishima. “You’re tall, Tsuki. Are you going to try?”

“Nope. It’s a waste of effort. What about you? You’re almost as tall as me.”

“I don’t have the muscles to jump like you guys though. I probably wouldn’t be able to pull myself up with my arms either.”

“True. You are pretty skinny.”

“Hey now that’s mean!”

Ignoring his friend’s light natured retort, Tsukishima turned to where Kageyama was brooding a yard or two away. “Your highness, are you going to try to join your queen up there before Noya and Tanaka cover the ramp in sweat?”

The setter glared. He opened his mouth to reply when, to everyone’s surprise, Hinata let out a bark of laughter from the top of the ramp.

“Baka-yama wishes he could get up here.” He goaded with a self-assured smile. His tone wasn’t cruel, but playful in a challenging sort of way. “I’d like to see him try though.”

“What, you think I can’t?”

“I dunno~” He sang as an answer, swinging his feet back and forth like a child.

That was all Kageyama needed to get riled up. He gestured for the others to get out of his way as he took more room than the others had to get a running start. After a few long breaths he took off. Hinata watched with bated breath as Kageyama got his hands on the edge of the ramp, kicked, and suddenly his elbows were up there too. It hadn’t been nearly as graceful as Hinata’s ascendance up the ramp but after putting his weight on his forearms he managed to get his entire body to the top.

When he was done he flipped onto his back tiredly. His blue eyes met Hinata’s brown ones, which were shining with delight as he listened to Kageyama pant for air.

“How was that for a jump, dumbass?”

Hinata licked his lips. For some reason Kageyama found the action distracting.

“I knew you’d make it up here,” he said finally. “There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that you would keep trying until you did.”

“Really?”

“Yep! And if you’d gotten stuck like Noya or started to slip like Asahi I would’ve taken pity on you and helped you up. I can’t leave my partner hanging, right?”

And suddenly Kageyama was wondering if he was talking about clearing the ramp anymore. For a second he considered spilling his guts to Hinata right there and then, but a commotion below them caught them off guard. The team was shouting about Kiyoko and Yachi arriving with food and drinks courtesy of the coaches.

“Get down here you guys!” Yamaguchi called for them, Tsukishima wincing since he was standing directly next to his friend.

Hinata waved at the pinch server. “Okay! We’ll be down in a sec!” He then turned to Kageyama with a timid smile. “Need help getting down, Baka-yama? If you want to slide down the ramp I can steady you so you don’t slip too early. O-or I can hold your hand so you can focus on getting your feet down there.”

The setter scoffed just to cover up the corners of his lips trying to quirk upwards.

“There are bars on the back of the ramp, dumbass Hinata.”

Once their stomachs were full Takeda cleared his throat. He looked pointedly to Ukai, who nodded before beginning his speech.

“As you all know tomorrow is the Cultural Festival. We had a solid practice run yesterday and today with props as well as with volleyball incorporated. Personally I think you guys are going to steal the show from anyone and everyone else performing tomorrow. Specs here agrees with me.”

“I do! All of you put so much hard work into this musical despite only having two weeks to get it down. After the performance tomorrow I want you to enjoy the rest of the festival. Oh! Everybody knows when to get here in the morning to warm up, right?”

Coach Ukai continued where Takeda left off. “We’re meeting two hours before we go on. This will give you guys enough time to ready your singing voice, go over your lines, and whatnot while Specs and I make sure the ramp and volleyball net are moved to the auditorium. Kinoshita, Narita: you two will need to move the sound equipment to behind the stage of where the performance will be.”

“Yes, coach!”

“Awesome. Okay guys and gals, have a safe trip home and get some rest.”

With that everyone dispersed out of the gym. Normally Kageyama would leave with the rest of the first-years (Hinata included) but today everyone but Hinata seemed to scramble out of there. Well, besides Daichi and Suga who said they needed to check something in the locker room before locking up. For some reason they were adamant no one else stuck behind.

“Do you think they’re going to make out in there?”

Hinata’s voice nearly made Kageyama jump. The fear from being caught off guard must have shown on his face before the ginger let out a laugh.

“Did I really scare you? Wow, your head must be somewhere else, Kageyama.”

“Shut up! Why are you even still here, anyway? I thought you were trying to catch up with Yachi.”

“I was, but she along with everyone else seemed determined to get away from me. Tsukishima told me I should check on my ‘king’.” He held up his fingers to give the word “king” air quotes.

Kageyama scowled as they began walking out of school grounds. Of course their route would bring them to the bike rack Hinata locked his back at; he needed it to get home.

“You know I hate that nickname.”

“I don’t get why. Okay, I mean, I get _why_ but I don’t actually think there’s anything wrong with being a bossy. Your old teammates had a good reason to be upset with you, sure, and you were and still are a jerk when it comes to expressing your emotions, yet I can’t seem to wrap my head around there being something wrong with trying to make everyone else better. You just wanted to win, right? You wanted them to improve because you knew they had potential to be better.”

“No, I wanted them to get on my level because I knew I wasn’t allowed to play volleyball by myself.”

Hinata rolled his eyes. “For someone who loves volleyball so much you must understand volleyball is a team sport. You can’t love volleyball without accepting that there is a huge team aspect. A good relationship among players is paramount.”

“Look at you using big words. Has Yachi been tutoring you without me?”

“Huh? No! I know lots of big words!”

“Then why do you always yell out things like _bwam_ or _fwazing_ or—”

“Sometimes I feel things and those feelings get translated into unintelligible sounds, okay? Jeez. You act like you’ve never said anything spontaneously from the heart before.”

“I haven’t, unlike you.”

Hinata turned red. He knew the other was talking about his sudden realization and confession from over a week before. Did this mean they were they finally going to talk things through now?

When seconds of silence turned to minutes the ginger felt his heart sinking. They were almost to his bike, and from there it would be moments from saying goodbye until tomorrow. The last thing he wanted to do was go into the musical with things still estranged between them. Not when he knew Kageyama was just socially inept.

_There is one thing I can try,_ Hinata thought. _I hope I don’t regret it._

“Hey, Kageyama?”

“Yeah?”

“We’re still partners, right?”

“Of course we are.”

“And we’re friends. Like, best friends?”

There was a pause. “Yes.”

“Then can I call you by your first name when we’re alone? You could call me Shoyo.”

Kageyama visibly tensed at the idea. However, after a moment, Hinata noticed his fingers unclenching once more.

“Dumbass Shoyo, huh?” He finally said. Hinata couldn’t help but shiver at the sound of his name, even with the insult tacked on to the beginning. “It doesn’t have the same ring to it, but if you’re going to be calling me Tobio then it’s only fair.”

Hinata’s smile lit up the night.

“Tobio Tobio Tobio. It’s such a cute name! No wonder the Great King calls you that all sing-songingly. Tobio~”

“If you’re going to say it like that idiot Oikawa then don’t say it at all!”

Giggles bubbled out of the ginger. By the time he recovered they were at the bike rack. After unlocking his bike he turned his gaze to Kageyama.

“Fine. I promise to say it differently, okay? Goodnight, Tobio.”

Kageyama gulped. The way Hinata said it was full such affection and fondness it made his insides flutter.

“Goodnight, Shoyo.”


	12. Act 3, Scene 1!

“Guys, I think I’m freaking out.” Yamaguchi stated.

“You’re freaking out? I’m freaking out! Did you see how many seats are filled out there?” Asahi asked. “I didn’t realize this many people would come to see us.”

“A group of fairly attractive guys is putting on a musical,” Kiyoko said. “We’re also one of the only live performances involving music, which is very popular at a festival like this. Yachi made the cutest posters advertising the performance as well.”

Bright-eyed at being included in being called “fairly attractive”, Tanaka turned to Yachi.

“You put up posters for the musical? What did you call it?”

She blushed. “Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei wanted to make sure people came to see you, so I made a few posters using the shot of you guys celebrating your victory against Aobajohsai. You know, the one where Hinata and Noya sent you all tumbling down? It was super adorable. As for the title it’s sort of cheesy.”

“What is it?” Suga asked.

Ennoshita answered with a chuckle. “The Greatest Crows.”

“A play off the title of the musical you based the play on,” Tsukishima commented dryly. “How clever.”

“Hey, I think it fits well!” Hinata defended his friend. “Don’t you think so, Kageyama?”

“It’s fine.”

“See?”

Tsukishima scoffed. “Yes, because I hold the king’s opinion in such high regard.”

“Now now everyone,” their captain gathered their attention. “Let’s get our heads in the game here. We go on in ten minutes. Does anyone need their script, or did we all memorize our lines?” When no one voiced needing their script he nodded. “Okay, great. Then let’s—”

His speech was interrupted by a high-pitched whine that could only come from Hinata. When everyone turned to look at the decoy they saw him dropping the part of the curtain he’d removed to look at the crowd with exaggerated shakiness.

“Hinata? What’s wrong?” Suga asked, concerned.

“V-volleyball players. Tons of them.”

Daichi frowned. “You mean the girl’s team? I invited them.”

“No, you don’t understand. I invited Kenma to come, so I expected Lev and Kuroo to tag along, but it looks like Kuroo invited Bokuto who brought Akaashi and some other people from their team.”

“Okay. That’s not so bad.”

“There are some Johzenji and Date Tech players too,” he went on.

“I thought I saw Aone down there…”

“Grand king and Iwaizumi…”

Kageyama shuddered. “Great.”

“And… Ushijima. Tendo too.”

That finally got the others to react.

“How did Shiratorizawa and those other teams find out about the performance?” Tsukishima wondered aloud.

“I don’t know,” Daichi answered, shaking off his shock, “but we have nothing to be worried about. The musical is about volleyball after all. A bunch of volleyball players in the crowd makes sense since they are the best audience to understand what we’ll be singing about. Now come on guys, huddle up.” He motioned to the managers as well. Off to the side Takeda watched them group up with a smile, taking a picture on his phone before sending it to Ukai who saw sitting in the back of the auditorium. No one knew it but he would be recording the entire spectacle. “When we go out there I want you all to have fun, okay? In a couple months this stage will seem like nothing. We’ll be playing on the Orange Court soon. Don’t forget!”

“Right!” Was the ubiquitous answer.

He grinned. “Then let’s go!”

The first half of the play went flawlessly.

_“A team without a king they’re going to make…”_

Kindaichi and Kunimi felt almost guilty listening to Kageyama sing to forlornly about them abandoning him. Whatever thoughts they were having about apologizing were swept away though when they were pulled away by Iwaizumi to keep Oikawa in line.

“Tobio can sing?” The Aobajohsai setter attempted to get up and rush the stage. “That little brat has been holding out on me! How dare he be so talented!”

Iwaizumi cuffed him around the head. “Shittykawa, shut your mouth. Some people are trying to enjoy the musical.”

“Yeah,” a deep voice carried from behind them.

Oikawa paled. He knew that voice.

“Who the hell invited Ushijima?”

Tendo stuck out his tongue. “Cultural festival is open to the public, pretty boy.”

_“I’m no good, I’m too small. Just want to be part of it all…”_

Kenma smiled softly as he watched Hinata sing. His voice, his smile, and the passion he exuded; he was going to captivate everyone watching.

Kuroo ruffled the setter’s hair. “Your friend is really something else, isn’t he?”

“I told you I wouldn’t be able to keep up with him.”

_“Karasuno will find a victory, at the summit where we used to be. We’ve been dreaming for someone like you to show up…”_

A few seats from the Nekoma players Bokuto could be seen head-banging to the music.

“These songs are awesome! I wonder if whoever wrote them could write ones for us,” the ace whispered excitedly to Akaashi. He was only whispering because Akaashi had threatened to drag him out of there if he shouted his usual “Hey hey hey!” during the performance.

“No. No singing. Just watching.”

“Aw, you’re no fun!”

**“Hey you! Come down here and play volleyball with me!”**

Ushijima watched the scene with rapt attention. It was only after the next number, Kageyama and Hinata’s wonderful duet, that he commented on the ginger’s jump that had the entire audience gasping in awe.

“The play’s story is slightly different from how he is in real life. Shoyo Hinata lives and breathes volleyball; no one needs to convince him to play. As for his jump I have to admit that was better than what most people can accomplish.”

Tendo smirked at his friend and teammate (and boyfriend). “Lots of words today! The little crow always gets you talking more.”

_“_ _If you jump like you do—”_

_“And if you set to me—”_

Aone tapped his foot from where he watched the musical in the far back. He’d have felt terrible if he’d blocked someone’s vision because of his height.

Still, he quite enjoyed the music.

_“I took your hand. You told me to play with you. But I can’t succeed without you…”_

“Are you crying?” Kenma asked Kuroo, who was definitely trying to wipe away a stray tear.

“His voice is so damn beautiful. How?”

Similar to the Nekoma captain Oikawa was trying to hold back the emotions Hinata’s song was making him feel.

“Chibi-chan, how could you? You’re going to mess up my beautiful face making me cry like this,” he bemoaned.

Iwaizumi gave his childhood friend and boyfriend a blank stare.

“You’re an idiot.”

“B-but I’m your idiot!”

“Yeah…”

Then there was the fight scene, which had the audience on the edge of their seats.

**“Just let me open my eyes!”** Hinata screamed, breaking himself out of Yamaguchi’s hold. He stormed right up to a pissed off looking Kageyama before gesturing to the rest of the team. **“They agree that I can’t keep just doing the same move over and over again. How am I supposed to get better when I let you do all of the work?”**

**“Actually Hinata,”** Daichi cut off with a scratch to his cheek, **“Kageyama’s right. We’re only weeks away from qualifiers. That’s probably not a lot of time to perfect the new quick.”**

Those watching could pinpoint that as the moment Hinata’s heart broke.

**“I get we don’t have a lot of time. I get the fast attack is amazing. I get that it works because of my blind trust in Kageyama and his amazing sets. But how am I supposed to stand on my own if I have to completely rely on his skills instead of developing my own?”**

His words hit the hearts of the volleyball players watching.

Suga sighed. **“It’s not that we don’t want you to grow, Hinata.”**

**“We just don’t want you growing right now, unless you mean in height.”** Tsukishima said nastily. He plated his character well.

**“What he said.”** Tanaka added. **“Just go back to closing your eyes, alright? It’s not like you can play well with them open anyway.”**

**“I can too!”** Hinata turned to Kageyama, who had been silent like his cues told him to. **“You believe in me don’t you? I know while we practice it I’ll miss a ton, but there’s no doubt in my mind that—”**

**“Just shut up. You aren’t good enough to do what you want.”**

**“But I—”**

Kageyama surged forward, grabbing the shorter player by his jersey. Hinata visibly flinched (for theatrics of course).

**“No! Stop arguing with us. Your greed is going to tear the team apart!”**

He shoved him to the ground harshly. For a moment the crowd watched with rapt silence as Hinata broke into tears. Then those tears were lost in a growl of anger, the ginger getting up and throwing himself at Kageyama. It looked like a real fight of course, but they had practiced this scene to know how to fake it without hurting each other.

Wrapping his arms around Kageyama’s middle, Hinata shouted: **“Greed? Your lack of belief in your own abilities is what’s holding us back!”**

**“Dumbass!”**

**“Jerk!”**

They sprung apart after a few false punches, Noya and Asahi having pulled them off of one another. However, neither of them was fast enough to stop Kageyama’s hand from snapping forward. With Kinoshita’s well-timed slap effect the light tap appeared to be a harsh hit.

**“You’re got good enough, Hinata! Stop thinking you ever will be without me!”**

**“You told me you’d make me invincible!”** He shouted back, more tears falling as his voice echoed out in a fake sob. **“But you only care about making yourself invincible and winning by any means necessary. I guess it was all a lie!”**

With that he ran off stage, leaving the rest of the team standing there as the lights faded. It was time for the fifteen minute intermission.

“Hey hey hey! This show is the best you guys!” Bokuto grinned from backstage. Hinata had rushed out to kidnap Kenma to let him see backstage, but wound up bringing several others as well. It seemed he had an idea. “That last scene gave me chills, number ten.”

“Thanks Bokuto-senpai! We worked really hard.”

“Man, I wish I could be up there on stage,” he said wistfully. His owl-like eyes blinked morosely. “I love having a crowd’s rapt attention, especially if I look just as cool as you guys do out there. I’d probably look even cooler though.”

Hinata grinned. He had an idea. “Hey, would you and Akaashi be interested in making a small appearance on stage during the last song?”

“Huh? Really?”

“Great king! Iwaizumi! Aone! Ushijima! Tendo! Lev, Kuroo, and Kenma too!”

All of them turned to Hinata in confusion from where they were making small talk with the other Karasuno players. It was only after the ginger waved them over into a huddle that he whispered them the plan, to which everyone was on board with (or convinced to be on board with by his signature smile). They dispersed after learning their cue.

Once it was about time to resume the show Kenma brushed up against Hinata’s side not unlike a cat giving a hug.

“That fight scene was really intense.” Kenma commented quietly now that everyone else had gone. “Are you sure you’re okay, Shoyo?”

“Of course I am! Kageyama and I talked a bit last night and things aren’t so weird anymore. Our acting and singing has been on point today because of it.”

“But you’re not together yet.”

“Not yet…” A wry smile lit up Hinata’s face. “But we will be very soon! I’m sure of it.”


	13. Act 3, Scene 2!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN:The songs the lyrics in this chapter are sung to and based off of are Tightrope and From Now On from The Greatest Showman (not the theatrical versions, but the official soundtrack version- the movie cuts several lines from From Now On so it won't match up unless you listen to the slightly longer version).

The second half of the musical began with the Karasuno players getting defeated in a mock game of volleyball by the team they would be up against in the preliminaries. The game they’d lost was only a practice match, but the point gap had been so wide they knew they needed to improve drastically otherwise they would never make it to nationals. It didn’t help that it was obvious the team was in disarray due to Kageyama not tossing a single ball to Hinata.

_“When the hardest match tears us down, we won’t give we will not drown…”_

The song flowed straight into the duet between the wonder duo, those watching taken aback by how tangible the chemistry between the two players was as they watched them sing and move around the stage together.

_“All I want is to win with you. All I want is to play with you. Please put your faith in me!” They harmonized before they closed the gap between them, Kageyama ducking under the net to hold Hinata close. That particular movement suggestion was definitely not in the notes. The Karasuno players watching didn’t seem all that surprised by their actions though; they’d been waiting for something to happen after they’d came in that morning more or less back to normal._

_From the crowd Kenma and Oikawa both smiled knowingly. Silently they both cheered their rivals on._

After the scene where Hinata left Kageyama standing there, Hinata was approached by Daichi playing the role of the coach.

**“Hey, kid.”**

**“Coach Daichi,”** the ginger greeted sadly. **“I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused. I decided if it helps the team you can take me off the starting lineup. I would give up on opening my eyes for the quick, but I just can’t. The other side of the net; I _know_ I saw it. I know I can do it. Kageyama may never set to me the rest of the year, but I need to be able to play well on my own.”**

**“You’re right. You do need to improve, but you’ll do that as a starting player. And this time we’ll support you.”**

**“W-what? But before you said—”**

**“I was wrong.”**

Daichi went on to explain that he and Captain Suga had talked about it, and they realized they weren’t helping him by forcing him to perform such a niche role. Having him only act as a decoy that could pull off a blinding fast quick attack was limiting his potential. So he apologized, and he promised to talk to Kageyama the next day at practice.

This led to a short internal monologue, spoken by Ennoshita of course, about Hinata’s thoughts about Kageyama not sending him a single toss. At the same time there was a small mock game being played in the background. Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and Suga played against Noya, Tanaka, and Asahi. The music to Tightrope began shortly after Kageyama walked out onto the stage only to sit down on a bench as he watched his teammates play. Not that Kageyama was the one singing. No, Hinata had another solo.

_“Most people wouldn’t dive into a sport without a plan, but look what I did,”_ he began with the sound of volleyballs being hit in the background. While they played he walked nonchalantly across the edge of the stage closest to the audience, his body twisting and turning so that no matter where he walked around stage he was always looking at Kageyama. _“Listened to you because you readily took my hand, but now we’re drifting._ _And now I love the team,”_ each word was dictated by him talking huge steps so that he was getting closer to Kageyama, _“Karasuno is where I want to be.”_

He walked around the bench his setter sat on as he sang the next verse. The entire time Kageyama’s eyes were on him or the places on court Hinata gestured to.

_“But how can I play when you let go of my hand? You promised to teach me. But when I asked you shut me out like I was no one. I thought we were partners. Always sure, always know exactly how high I would jump. But I ruined everything by reaching for something new. I really miss you,”_ he punctuated the “you” by holding his hand out to Kageyama. _“Miss you.”_

Before the next verse Hinata managed to get the other to his feet. With a smile the ginger led him around the court, holding his hand all the while.

_“Date Tech lost, Aobajohsai too, remember our first victories? We pulled it together and became close as a team,”_ he let go of his hand and turned around. He tilted head his head innocently. _“Was it all just a dream? And the wins that came after them too… they wouldn’t have happened without you.”_ He took a confident step forward before spreading his arms out wide.

_“I gave you my hand and you said I’d be invincible with you! I jumped without looking,”_ he belted, eyes bearing into Kageyama’s. He began to take steps back toward the front of the stage, his setter following. _“But above the net is a truly breathtaking view; I just want to see it too.”_ He took a careful step off the stage, his right arm stretched out toward the crowd like he was going to fall forward if he leaned their way. _“So sure you’d be there through it all!”_ At the last word he did in fact lean forward, Narita pausing the music for just a moment as Kageyama grabbed his other hand and pulled him back onto the stage. After pulling Hinata close he shook his head and began walking back to the bench. Hinata stared after him sadly as the music resumed. _“Well, I guess I was wrong, but I know I won’t give up on you. I wanna play volleyball… with you. With you. You,”_ he held the note, singing it loudly yet tenderly. _“I miss you.”_

He walked off stage again, and the lights on stage dimmed. Slowly a single spotlight lit up the bench Kageyama was sitting on. Suga came into the soft light after a few moments of silence and lack of movement. Just as he took a seat by the other setter the music to From Now On began.

_“I saw his smile start to dim and I knew my words were cold,”_ Kageyama sang with his head in his hands before he raised his chin up and looked to Suga. _“How cruelly I treated him, expecting him to form to my mold. And from that fight, what remains?”_ He clenched his fists. _“I haven’t changed. We lost it all. I’m to blame. But I promise I’ll change,”_ he stood up abruptly, turning to the other side of the stage where Hinata was slowly revealed by another spotlight. _“For you.”_

Slowly Kageyama closed the distance between them, Suga just a step behind him.

_“This moment on I’ll try my best to hear you out. This moment on we’ll work together as a team. Right now. I don’t deserve this but can you give me a fresh start? I will change,”_ he held a hand out, _“from now on.”_

Smiling, Hinata took it. There was no hesitation.

_“They used to call us king and queen, and I hated those stupid names. Now they’re all I want to hear, because that means you’d be with me. Your radiant smile, your praise and yells, you’re annoying begging asking for one more.”_ A grin. _“I will not stop sending you a toss unless you tell me we’re done for.”_

_“And starting now,”_ Suga resumed, Daichi joining him as he entered the scene from behind Hinata, _“we won’t take the easy way out. You can grow, we’re sorry we stopped you from that. We weren’t right. Open your eyes and you will see our path to victory. You will grow. We will change. This moment on!”_

All at once Tanaka, Noya, and Asahi dropped the volleyballs they were playing with and joined in, singing and clapping to the beat. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi clapped too, and at some point Yamaguchi’s uncertain voice slipped in halfway through the next verse.

_“We are Karasuno. And we will play again! Play again! We are Karasuno. And we will play again! Play again! We are Karasuno. And we will play again! Play again!”_

_“This moment on,”_ Kageyama and Hinata harmonized, _“we will grow!”_

_“We are Karasuno. And we will win again! Win again! We are Karasuno. And we will win again! Win again! We are Karasuno. And we will win again! Win again! We are Karasuno. And we will win again! Win again!”_

For some reason as they repeated the verses there was a lot of movement coming from the audience. It appeared like several young men were making their way to out of the auditorium. Those watching the performance ignored it for the most part, but many found it out they would be leaving when there was still almost ten minutes left of the musical. And the end was the best part!

_“And starting now, we won’t take the easy way out. We can grow; we’re still learning not to hold ourselves back. It wasn’t right. Opened our eyes and now we see,”_ the singers got into a pose similar to what they used to cheer their pinch servers on, effectively making many watching break into giggles, _“our path to victory. We will grow. We will change. This moment on!”_

_“We are Karasuno. And we will fly again. Fly again. We are Karasuno,”_ their voices dropped in volume and speed. _“And we will fly again. Fly again. We are Karasuno. And we will fly again. Fly again. This moment on, we will win. Fly again.”_


	14. Act 3, Scene 3! The Finale!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: The song the lyrics in this chapter are sung to and based off of is The Greatest Show (official soundtrack, not theatrical version) from The Greatest Showman.

_"Whoa!"_

The stage was dark despite the music slowly growing louder. Clapping and the shared cry of _"Whoa!"_ sounded from within the darkness, but it was only after the music had reached its peak that the lights began to turn on. Only then did the audience see the Karasuno players lined up at the front edge of the stage. Daichi stood in the very center, Suga, Asahi, and Noya to his right while Kageyama, Hinata, and Tanaka stood to his left. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were nowhere to be seen. At least not at first.

They were part the spectacle becoming revealed by the lights behind Daichi.

On either side of the volleyball net six players each were poised as if they were going to play a real match. The fact they were volleyball players from different schools was what sent the crowd into cheers of excitement that could be heard over the music to The Greatest Show.

"What a Cultural Festival this has turned out to be," Oikawa said under his breath as he prepared to serve the ball. On his side of the net Iwaizumi, Bokuto, Akaashi, Tsukishima, and Yamaguchi were prepared to play a mock game that was sure to get way out of hand. It didn't help that the people on the opposing team was as followed: Aone, Ushijima, Tendo, Lev, Kuroo, and Kenma. Poor Kenma seemed like he wanted to be anywhere else but on stage. It was a good thing he and Hinata were good friends.

As the music reached its peak Daichi gestured for the other singers lined up front to come to him.

_"Okay you guys, huddle up as a team now."_

_"Whoa!"_ They sang in reply.

_"The match is upon us, it's time to show what we're made of."_

_"Whoa!"_

_"We're going to block, receive, and score like never before. Clear your minds, open your eyes. Our old nickname no longer applies."_

He straightened back, the team breaking from their huddle as they got back into their positions.

 _"Won't worry, done our training, no one's laughing at us. Travelled far to get here and we'll go places after. It's our dream, and we see it coming closer. Never want our time on the court to be over."_ He threw out his arms before gesturing to the game going on behind him. As he did so the rest of the singers held an arm out in sync in the same direction, also drawing attention to the visiting players. _"It's amazing, it's freeing, full of emotion. It's our passion for playing and you must see it. There's nothing stopping the thrill of the ball— it's what we're holding onto. Tell us do you understand?"_

All the singers joined in then, various expressions and mannerisms being displayed as they sang.

 _"We play because we love volleyball!"_ They called out. Behind them Ushijima hit a thunderous spike that nearly made poor Yamaguchi faint while Tsukishima felt a phantom pain in his hand. This only riled up Bokuto, who shouted for Akaashi to set to him for revenge. _"For us it's not just a sport. There's friendship and teamwork, intoxicating you. Oh, we are Karasuno! We love it, we can't stop now. Volleyball means so much to us. Bringing us together now, it's shaping who we are. Oh, it is the greatest sport!"_

_"Whoa!"_

_"Underdogs we come to blow away everyone,"_ Daichi soloed the others responded.

_"Whoa!"_

_"Competition won't even know where we hit 'em from."_

_"Don't sweat it, at the summit, we're flying to it,"_ everyone sang together as the game behind them intensified. Tsukishima and Iwaizumi had managed an amazing block only for Kenma to pull a setter dunk, which infuriated Oikawa to no end. _"Cherishing the work that brought us up to this point. Excited to see the upcoming 'trashcan showdown'. Never give up 'cause we're aching and we want you to know—"_

_"Volleyball is not just a sport! It takes tremendous amounts of work. Mental and physical, halfway to breaking you. Oh, this is what we want to show! Rewarding us every time we play, how could we ever lose now? Your cheers and support, we want to thank you all! Oh, volleyball's the greatest sport!"_

_"It's the only sport we want to play. It's the sport we love and need,"_ Kageyama's voice stole the show. Well, before Hinata sang back.

 _"And with our team here by our side,"_ the ginger smiled, _"there's nowhere we'd rather be."_

_"Volleyball is what we live and breathe. Winning together as a team—"_

Hinata took over and finished with a flourish, his arm raising into the air in a fist as he belted out his last solo verse with all his heart. _"—is the greatest feeling, guaranteed. Karasuno is where you want to be. Here is where you want to be!"_

The clapping intensified. _"We play because it's what we love! No matter the amount of hard work. There are rewards like pride and love, invigorating you. Oh, we are Karasuno!"_ The background music's volume dropped, and then it resumed quietly before it rose in a crescendo again. _"We love it, we can't stop now. The game means so much to us. Bringing us together now, it's shaping who we are. Oh, it is the greatest sport!"_

 _"Volleyball means so much to us! Thank you all for coming to support, our silly musical, and our recent matches too."_ There was a loud cry from the volleyball game going on, Bokuto having broken past Lev, Tendo, and Aone's triple block. _"Oh, we're grateful and we want to show, how it feels every time we play, and that we won't let you down now! Your cheers fire us up, we want to thank you all! Oh, Karasuno's the greatest school!"_

Throughout the last verse Kageyama had turned to stare at Hinata, the ginger's eyes already having been glued to his partner. As their shared verses came up they couldn't fight the feeling to get closer to one another. Suddenly the crowd watching didn't matter; their fingers intertwined as they sang the next lines to each other rather than their audience.

 _"'Cause the people that matter most are in front of you."_ Hinata shivered under the taller boy's gaze. His blue eyes were staring right through him, no words necessary to convey what he was feeling. This was probably a good thing considering how bad he was at talking. _"It's because of them, our dreams, we can pursue, and no hardship will stop us now."_

Their voices dropped out, the other singers taking over the sound. It was a good thing because Hinata's nerves were leaving him unable to speak. Kageyama wasn't much better off either. When he noticed the look of primal desire in Hinata's brown eyes he knew exactly what he wanted. It was just like the moment they'd accomplished their first successful open-eyed quick during the Fukurodani match.

**_Kiss me?_ **

Kageyama heard it in his head like Hinata had said it out loud.

_"Oh! We are Karasuno! We are Karasuno! We are Karasuno! We are Karasuno! We are Karasuno! We are Karasuno! Volleyball's the greatest—"_

Neither of them could hold back any longer. Kageyama's grip tightened around Hinata just as the decoy impatiently pulled his setter down by the scruff of his shirt. Their lips touched in a gentle kiss that turned into something more demanding within seconds. The team didn't even get a chance to react before the crowd roared in surprise and clapped in approval of their "acting".

_"Volleyball's the greatest sport!"_

The lights dimmed as the music ended, the visiting volleyball players in the back reluctantly following that as the signal to stop playing. Not that they were that upset; those who wanted to keep playing would just have to do so after the Cultural Festival was over.

While everyone on the Karasuno team got in a line at the front of the stage, preparing to bow to the audience and thank them for coming (if the cheering and clapping died down anytime soon, that is), the wonder duo were too busy staring at each other with twin looks of happiness.

Hinata opened his mouth to say something when Kageyama surprised him by quickly turning off both of their microphones. Then he leaned down to whisper into his ear.

"If you're going to tell me you like me and were going ask me out, then my answer is yes. Also, I like you too, dumbass. Just not as much as volleyball. Yet, anyway."

Not having a microphone didn't stop those in the vicinity from hearing Hinata's cry of "I knew you liked me!" before watching Hinata literally jump on his new boyfriend, toppling them both. They only just barely scrambled up in time to bow with the rest of the team before the curtain closed.

* * *

"Kageyama, hurry up! I want to race you on the inflatable obstacle course thingy they have set up in the gym."

"Hinata, you're literally leading me there by the hand. If you want to get there faster then pick up your own pace. You know I'll keep up."

Brown eyes lit up in realization, the ginger's boyfriend muttering a quiet "dumbass" before getting his arm nearly pulled out of its socket as Hinata began running to the area with the inflatables. Several yards behind them Suga, Daichi, Kiyoko, and Yachi trailed after them.

"I can't believe you treated them both to grilled meat and neither of them thought anything of it," Daichi commented fondly as he watched the first-years run off.

Suga chuckled. "I told them I was proud that they both realized their feelings, which is true. It's the least I can do for them after they won me the bet."

"You're so sweet I had no idea you'd have a dark side that would bet on people getting together," Yachi muttered blatantly before she realized her senpais had overheard her. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean for that to come out like that!"

"You're fine, Yachi." The setter reassured. "My gentle, kind demeanor is exactly what gives me an advantage on and off the court when my more devious side comes out."

The smirk on his face turned into a grimace as his boyfriend elbowed him playfully in the side.

"His dark side is like asking for black coffee and getting handed a glass of milk instead. He gave half of his winnings to Takeda as a donation for club expenses and is planning on using the rest of the money to treat the entire team to food sometime."

"Daichi! Now the girls are going to think I'm soft!"

"You are."

Kiyoko hid a smile behind her hand. The two of them were so cute.

Elsewhere at the festival Yamaguchi had playfully stolen a bite of Tsukishima's fried squid, making the taller boy blush before demanding to be fed a bite of his boyfriend's beef kabob. Inside the school a few players were making their way through a haunted hallway full of jump scares. Each one managed to make Asahi shriek despite his eyes being closed until Noya finally grabbed the ace's hand. Well, Tanaka had also taken guard in the front of the small group, nearly scaring the poor souls just trying to do their role well. A floor above them Ennoshita, Kinoshita, and Narita chatted with their classmates about the performance over tea.

As for the other volleyball players who'd visited it was no surprise that they were enjoying themselves. Tendo had convinced Ushijima to play the strength testing game where he won without breaking a sweat. The giant gave his prize, a stuffed eagle, to Tendo instinctively, making the blocker smirk sadistically at where Oikawa pouted next to Iwaizumi.

"Iwa-chan," he begged, "won't you please win me something too?"

For as hard as he was on his boyfriend Iwaizumi had always wanted to show him a good time at a festival like this. The pure look of gratitude on Oikawa's face when Iwaizumi later handed him a stuffed dolphin plush and a giant taiyaki for them to share was priceless.

On the other side of school grounds Bokuto was leading Akaashi around in a manner similar to Hinata. Instead of games the Fukurodani players were in search of the cold soba station (only because Bokuto knew his boyfriend loved cold soba). They passed a mochi stand where Lev chatted excitedly to Aone about blocking techniques while Kuroo fed Kenma mochi on a stick like they did so regularly.

All in all, it had been a successful Cultural Festival.

* * *

AN: The last bit eludes to season 4 content (just some season 4 character cameos- just the names really).

* * *

Laughter and halted swearing drifted over to where a group of talented volleyball players watched as Hinata crowed to his "mom and dad" (Suga and Daichi) about beating Kageyama at the obstacle race.

"Those two are the star players of Karasuno, huh?"

"It seems so. I'd say they don't look like much, but then I'd be lying. That sunshine-y kid might be short yet the aura around him is a bit off-putting."

"I agree. The setter too; I've read a little about him. He's apparently very talented. He's just not good with people."

Sakusa scoffed, interrupting the exchange between the Miya twins.

"He doesn't have to be good with people when he has that orange-haired ball of energy making friends with everyone he meets. Didn't you notice after the performance all of those volleyball players in the final song approached him? It sounded like there were people from at least four or five different teams playing together all because this Hinata kid asked them to. It's… remarkable."

Hoshiumi, eyes flashing with determination, let a wide smile envelope his face.

"I hope we get to play him on the Orange Court. I want to beat him."

"You just want to see if he's shorter than you."

"Shut up!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap! I can't believe I started writing this two weeks ago and managed to get a chapter out every day until it was finished. Like I've been obsessed with other fandoms/ships before but this was crazy lol. Anyway, I may write more Haikyuu!! stuff at a later time but the next month will be filled with me moving and finishing my second book while also trying to get my first book ready for preorder. Wish me luck! Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed!


	15. Epilogue+

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue and... bonus content, I suppose? Just figured I should put this out here since it's been sitting on my computer for months. More or a drabble really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I'm officially an author! See details at the end of the fic.

The Karasuno volleyball team streamed out of their bus with an air of excitement and nervousness about them. This was it. Later today they would be playing on the Orange Court against some of the best volleyball teams in the country. After all their hard work they had finally made it.

"Tobio!" Hinata shouted before jumping onto his boyfriend's back. The setter was used to the other's antics by now though, barely huffing before his arms instinctively helped support the shorter boy's legs. He tried to ignore the fact that his hands were under Hinata's upper legs and his boyfriend's arms were wrapped loosely around his shoulders. He couldn't afford to let his mind wander; they had matches to win. "Tobio, isn't this amazing? This is where the Little Giant played!"

Kageyama rolled his eyes, but there was no real malice in the action. "You've told me hundreds of times, Shoyo. I'm well aware. A better question is: are you going to get off me, or am I going to have to carry you all the way to the opening ceremony?"

"You should honestly carry him," Asahi put in helpfully. "The crowds here are relentless. It's pretty difficult for shorter players to navigate through all the teams and people gathered here just to watch."

"That's why he's going to hold my hand!" Noya shouted happily, slipping his hand into the gentle giant's. The blush on Asahi's face only made his grin grow bigger.

Tsukishima made a face of disdain. "Get a room you two. I can't believe you all would act so gay in public."

Yamaguchi gave him a side glance. "Tsuki, you're literally holding my hand right now."

"So?"

Daichi laughed from where he was also holding his boyfriend's hand, Tanaka asking Kiyoko in the background if he could hold her hand so he didn't get separated from the group. Minutes later the team was making their way into the stadium with bags thrown over their shoulders and more than half of the team connected by interlocked fingers. Yachi was holding onto Kiyoko's hand since people parted for her like the red sea, the second-year players trailing after her in awe.

When they got to an area where only a bunch of other players were milling around Hinata tightened his grip from where he was still attached to Kageyama like a koala.

"Everyone looks so strong!"

A dangerous glint entered Kageyama's eyes as he nodded. "They do. We're going to surpass them all, aren't we?"

"Yeah!"

* * *

Bonus/drabble from before I came up with the idea for the fic and needed to change all the lyrics to fit the situation; aka a Rewrite the Stars reprise:

* * *

Kageyama: "You know I owe you, for getting rid of the old me. Because of you, I know how to be part of a team. I get the crown still fits, but it's only because you placed it on me. Don't doubt yourself. I promised you'd be invincible with me..."

"You're the light of my life, a star so bright it fills the sky. Won't you stay by my side? A partner like you is one of a kind. I care about you, and I know you love me. Together we form the greatest team. We'll reach the top of the world. Shoyo, promise you won't stop winning with me."

Hinata: "You know it's crazy… to think I was intimidated by you. Well, at the beginning, your scary face gave me nightmares. But not anymore, because I've seen your softest smiles. You've helped me fly over the walls. You taught me so much, and I'm eternally grateful to you for setting to me..."

"Your tosses are the best! Your volleyball skills blow my mind. I still have more room to grow, and I promise I won't hold you back. I'll learn all I can, so that I can win, and beat you in an official match. Will you still toss to me? It might be a while until I get there, but trust me."

Both: "I'll reach the summit with you! I'll stay on the court with you! Let's keep playing the longest."

Hinata: "It's possible?"

Kageyama: "Of course it's possible."

Hinata: "It's possible."

Kageyama: "With you it's possible!"

Both: "We'll keep improving how we play, even as we play against each other again. No one can tear us apart. We're better than we were at the start!"

Kageyama: "I'll set to you."

Hinata: "And you'll set to me."

Both: "We'll be exactly what each other needs! Volleyball runs in our blood, and you're even more important to me. Can you see?"

Kageyama: "You know I love you. In mind, in body, and heart."

Hinata: "I love you too. I couldn't fly without you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hello! For those that have been reading my writing for the past several years (or maybe you're new) I've been talking about publishing original content for the last couple years. Well, I've finally done it! As of today my debut novel "Another Word for Help" is up for pre-order on all the major channels. You can find information about the book itself, details on getting an advanced copy in exchange for a review, and more on my official author website which there is a link to on my profile page.


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